Turkey, UAE ratify $40 billion trade deal after Erdogan’s victory
Al-Monitor | 31 May 2023
Turkey, UAE ratify $40 billion trade deal after Erdogan’s victory
ANKARA — The United Arab Emirates and Turkey ratified on Wednesday a cooperation agreement aiming to raise bilateral trade to $40 billion within five years.
Thani al-Zeyoudi, the minister of state for foreign trade, announced the deal on Twitter. “This deal marks a new era of cooperation in our long-standing friendship,” al-Zeyoudi wrote, adding that the deal would help push bilateral non-oil trade between the countries over $40 billion in the next five years.
Abu Dhabi’s ratification came days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s election victory.
Turkey ratified the deal in April after it was signed by Erdogan and his Emirati counterpart, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in March.
UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Erdogan over his election victory in Sunday’s runoff. “We look forward to working together to further enhance the strategic partnership between our two countries,” he tweeted even before Erdogan’s win was officially called.
The negotiations over the agreement started in 2021 as part of the crown prince’s landmark visit to Turkey in 2021. The visit sealed the diplomatic thaw in the bilateral ties following years of tensions. Ankara had initiated a fence-mending push to restore ties with its former regional rivals, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, in a bid to overcome its regional isolation and to draw much-needed Gulf funds as it faces one of its worst cost-of-living crises. The two countries inked several cooperation deals, including a $5 billion currency swap deal during Erdogan’s visit to the Emirates last year.
