Turkish-UAE relations; From the tension in Libya and Syria to the effort to attract capital

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, the visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan The President of Turkey to the UAE is part of his team’s plans to develop political-economic relations between Ankara and Abu Dhabi.

Erdogan invited UAE President Mohammad Bin Zayed to participate in the world summit. “Future governments” went to Dubai, but he was invited as a guest of honor and it is planned to evaluate bilateral relations between Turkey and the UAE in a bilateral meeting.

The President of Turkey traveled to Dubai in a situation where the economic crisis in his country continues and the lack of foreign exchange resources has become one of the most important concerns of Ankara.

It is in such a situation that the economic team Erdogan’s government has its eyes on the Arab countries. In the past few months, a total of 12 billion dollars have gone to Turkey from Riyadh and Doha, which is not enough to save the Turkish economy from the crisis. As a result, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, Turkey plans to benefit from the UAE’s financial and investment capacities and thus bring the economic interaction with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf to a peak.

Turkey – UAE, from tension to targeting 25 billion dollars

The beginning of the Syrian crisis was one of the turning points in the history of relations between the Republic of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Because during the Syrian crisis, Turkey also became a part of the crisis and took the side of the armed opposition against the Syrian government.

Turkey joined Qatar and the Brotherhood movements in this way. And during the events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, this friendship continued. But the Emiratis sided with Saudi Arabia and divided with Turkey and Qatar in almost all regional fields.

These trends finally reached the point where Saudi Arabia embargoed Qatar. There was a crisis between Saudi Arabia and Turkey over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the gates of the two important markets of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were closed to Turkish goods. However, during a relatively long process, Erdogan decided to normalize relations and, in addition to the UAE, entered into a compromise with Saudi Arabia.

Turkey and the UAE, in addition to tensions in several The regional case also got into trouble during the revelations of Sadat Packer. Sedat Pekar was a controversial mafia figure who, after fleeing to the UAE, accused Erdogan’s government officials, including Suleyman Soylu, the former minister of the country in Erdogan’s cabinet, of bribery and involvement in criminal activities in several video files published on YouTube. .

Packer files were visited more than eighty million times in total, and this issue turned into a new tension between Turkey and the UAE. became. But thanks to the significant trade interaction, the two countries have overcome this tension and the UAE asked Packer to pull the trigger. From that period until now, new developments have taken place in the relations between these two regional actors, and now commercial cooperation has reached its peak.

Turkey and UAE in 2023, several cooperation agreements signed and after several rounds of negotiations, the processes of approving the comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates were completed. , commercial vehicles, petrochemical products, textiles and carpets, shoes, plastic products, machinery and various electronic devices, the parties agreed to reduce 80% of the total tariff lines. The agreement between Turkey and the UAE is to increase the trade volume to 25 billion dollars in a period of 5 years.

According to the official statistics of the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, the UAE is the largest with a bilateral trade volume of 10 billion dollars. Ankara’s business partner is in the Persian Gulf region.

They have intertwined relationships from contracting activities to the food industry and supply chain. Many Turkish companies with global brands in various service sectors, from finance to health, education and tourism, have completed successful business in the UAE.

Also, some institutions UAE banking and state-owned companies are active in many sectors in Turkey, and the number of new UAE investments and business partnerships in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and several coastal provinces of Turkey is increasing exponentially.

Development of security cooperation

Turkey seeks to establish its foothold in Strengthen the defense-security balance of the Persian Gulf region. The creation of a military base in Qatar, cooperation with Kuwait and support for the establishment of a NATO office in Kuwait, as well as intelligence cooperation with the UAE, are important components of this scenario. Turkey’s “Stav” has said about this situation: “Countries like the UAE cannot pursue decisive long-term regional policies by marginalizing influential and powerful states in the region such as Turkey and Iran.” The cost of pursuing a decisive foreign policy will be high for the UAE government. On the other hand, Turkey, which is somewhat marginalized by the western world actors, cannot make effective regional projections alone. This situation requires strengthening the relations between the countries of the region. The necessity of diversifying the foreign policies of the countries of the region has also become a necessity based on this issue, and Ankara wants to get closer and closer to Abu Dhabi”.

The foreign policy and national security advisers of the Turkish presidential institution also wrote about the importance of cooperation with the UAE: “Turkey, which has highlighted its military presence in Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean, has a solution called normalization with other powers to consolidate its achievements. He chose the region, including the UAE. Economic opportunities for Turkey and the UAE as supply chains were disrupted after the outbreak of the coronavirus led to the signing of 10 agreements. The improvement of the relationship with the UAE also accelerated the normalization with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. .com/Tasnim/Uploaded/Image/1402/11/24/1402112412132785929386934.jpg”/>

Duran also acknowledged that in addition to cooperation, competition also affects Ankara’s relations. – Abu Dhabi has cast a shadow.

He said about this issue: “Two countries claiming power in the region should not be expected to solve competitive problems immediately. Of course, common economic interests in regional crises may bring new negotiations and bargaining. We have entered a new era in which Turkey and the UAE will both compete in areas such as the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece, Libya and the Horn of Africa, while also seeking cooperation. It means a new relationship style. The two countries know very well that when they step on each other’s toes, the other will react”.

While pointing to Ankara’s sensitivity to the relations between the UAE and Greece, Duran wrote: “Turkey and The UAE has now reached a stage where they can manage the competition by negotiating with each other.

Erdogan is expected to request an increase in the investment of state-owned banks in his meeting with Bin Zayed. UAE in Turkey. It remains to be seen how much this request will be welcomed by the Emirati side.

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