Ahmed Mourad (Cairo)
Relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Turkey are making great strides forward on the political and economic levels, which was reflected in the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, last November, to the Republic of Turkey, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The upcoming visit of President Erdogan to the UAE reflects a real Turkish desire to develop relations with the state at various levels, and the two countries’ interest in developing their relations, and their keenness to strengthen and diversify them.
The UAE has a distinguished and influential position among the countries of the region and the world, thanks to its wise leadership, and it has its vision in the issues of the region that the various powers in the world are interested in listening to, and Turkey is one of the regional countries of great importance, whether at the political or economic level, as it represents a bridge Between East and West.
The United Arab Emirates and Turkey launched a new phase of cooperation and strategic partnership, based on mutual respect, interests and common denominators.
The new phase of the Emirati-Turkish relations is driven by the two countries’ desire to strengthen bilateral relations in various fields and sectors, and to coordinate positions on many regional and international issues and files, which was evident in a number of contacts and meetings that brought together the leaders of the two countries.
The phone call that took place on the thirtieth of last August between His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, represented the starting point towards a new stage in the Emirati-Turkish relations, during which the two sides emphasized the The necessity of developing bilateral relations in a way that serves the common interests of the two countries.
This phone call came a few days after the Turkish President received an Emirati delegation headed by His Highness Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser. Steps to enhance economic and trade cooperation, and investment opportunities in the fields of transportation, health, energy, and others.
Historic visit
The Emirati and Turkish orientation towards strengthening cooperation relations and strengthening the rapprochement between the two countries appeared during the historic and pivotal visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Turkey on the twenty-fourth of November 2021, during which he witnessed a solemn official and popular reception. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the forefront of his future, which clearly revealed the importance of the Emirati-Turkish relations, and the two sides’ efforts to develop and strengthen them.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan tweeted through his official account on Twitter, praising his fruitful talks with the Turkish president, and the two parties’ aspiration to open new and promising horizons for cooperation and joint work that brings good to the two countries, achieves their mutual interests and aspirations for development and prosperity. . In turn, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the development of his country’s relations with the UAE, declaring the start of a “new era” in the relations of the two countries.
humanitarian initiative
The Emirati-Turkish cooperation was not limited to the political and economic fields, as it extended to the humanitarian level. In early November 2021, the UAE announced the provision of 36.7 million dirhams, or the equivalent of $10 million, to Turkey, to contribute to the rehabilitation of Turkish regions affected by forest fires and floods that swept these areas.
This humanitarian initiative came from the Emirates under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE expressed its solidarity with the Turkish people in these exceptional circumstances, and showed its keenness to contribute to providing appropriate support to mitigate the humanitarian repercussions and damage caused by floods and fires.
Currency exchange agreement between the two countries
On the nineteenth of last January, the Central Bank of Turkey and the Central Bank of the Emirates signed an agreement to exchange currencies with a nominal size of 64 billion liras, or the equivalent of 4.7 billion dollars and 18 billion dirhams. This agreement aims to enhance bilateral trade and aspects of financial cooperation between the two countries, and it will last for 3 years. , with the possibility of extending it by another agreement between the parties. The Turkish currency, the lira, witnessed a remarkable improvement during the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to Ankara on the twenty-fourth of November 2021, which observers considered an indication of the market’s satisfaction to strengthen relations and cooperation between the UAE and Turkey, and this had a positive impact on the Turkish currency. local.
Parliamentary cooperation
On the eighteenth of October 2021, His Excellency Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council, met with Togay Tunshir, Ambassador of Turkey to the UAE, and they discussed ways to activate cooperation and parliamentary relations between the two countries.
The two sides considered parliamentary relations a great motivation for the growth and development of bilateral relations between the UAE and Turkey in various fields, and stressed the importance of consensus between the UAE and Turkey in the field of regional and international issues, based on the presence of many common denominators on which common visions could be built towards threats to security and stability in the region. Region.
Intensive meetings between officials and businessmen
The UAE and Turkey are keen, during the current stage, to enhance aspects of economic cooperation between the two countries, which was evident in the intensive meetings that brought together officials and businessmen from both countries during the past few months.
His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, met a trade delegation from Turkey on the seventeenth of last October, and the two sides discussed plans to diversify economic opportunities of common interest. The two parties also agreed on practical steps to develop trade and investment exchange and economic cooperation between the two countries. Several days before this meeting, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the UAE hosted a delegation from the Foreign Economic Relations Committee in Turkey, headed by Tawfik Ozi, head of the Turkish side, in the UAE-Turkish Business Council. The Emirates and Turkey represent two important crossing points and trade centers linking the East and the West.
The Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry pledged to encourage Emirati companies and Emirati business owners to invest in Turkey and establish new business partnerships.
In turn, Tawfik Ozi, head of the Turkish side in the UAE-Turkish Business Council, stressed that the majority of Turkish companies seek to enhance cooperation with the Emirati business sector.
Cooperation in the field of environment, health and food
During the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates announced the establishment of a $10 billion fund to support the Turkish economy and strategic investments in Turkey, especially in the logistical sectors, such as energy, health, and food.
The UAE and Turkey also signed, during the visit, 10 cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding, related to the fields of energy, banking, transportation, technology and the environment, most notably: a memorandum of understanding on the exchange of financial information in the context of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and a memorandum of understanding between Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company and the Fund The Turkish sovereign, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company and the Presidential Investment Authority, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and the Istanbul Stock Exchange, a cooperation agreement between the Central Bank of the UAE and its Turkish counterpart, an agreement on administrative cooperation and partnership in customs affairs between the two countries, and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of energy between the two countries, and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of environment between the two countries.
diplomatic relations
42 years ago, specifically during 1979, diplomatic relations between the UAE and Turkey began when Ankara opened its embassy in Abu Dhabi, and several years later, specifically in 1983, the UAE opened its embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
And Turkish relations with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in general, and the UAE in particular, have witnessed great developments during the past decades.
Over the past four decades, Emirati-Turkish relations have developed through dozens of mutual visits by the leaders of the two countries, which resulted in many steps and decisions that contributed to strengthening relations between the two countries, the most prominent of which was the formation of a joint cooperation committee in November of 2010, in addition to the formation of a joint economic committee. and a political consultations committee.
Cooperation Council
In 2005, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council signed a framework agreement on trade and investment, which has since led to a boom in trade exchanges.
Between 2002 and 2012, trade between Turkey and the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council increased nine times and increased from $1.49 billion to $19.6 billion.
Gulf investments in Turkey have tripled in more than a decade, increasing from $2 billion in 1998 to $6.5 billion in 2011, mostly in the real estate, banking and communications sectors.
Turkish companies have witnessed a boom in the countries of the region by winning many public contracts in the construction, services and infrastructure sectors.
Parallel to the significant growth of economic exchanges, political cooperation developed between Turkey and the Gulf states.
In 2005, the UAE joined the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative launched in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in June 2004, which is a forum for discussing major regional issues and exchanging information in the fight against terrorism.
Moreover, in 2008, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Gulf states and Turkey paving the way for Gulf-Turkish strategic relations, at all levels, political, economic, cultural and even security, during the meeting of foreign ministers of the concerned countries in Jeddah.