The United Arab Emirates and Turkey announced on Monday February 14 the signing of several agreements, during the first visit for ten years of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to this rich Gulf monarchy, concretizing the rapprochement between two former rivals.
The two-day visit, Erdogan's first to the Emirates as president, was marked by the signing of 13 cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoU), according to the official Emirati news agency WAM.
An announcement confirmed by the Turkish agency Anadolu.
>> To see: "Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the United Arab Emirates: towards a real reconciliation?"
Turkish President Erdogan's visit follows that in November of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto ruler of the Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed.
He then announced the launch of a fund of nearly nine billion euros to support investments in Turkey, in the grip of a serious economic crisis.
According to WAM, the agreements signed relate to the sectors of "health and medical sciences, advanced industries and technologies, climate, culture, agriculture, transport, crisis and disaster management, meteorology and the media".
A letter of intent on cooperation between defense industries has been signed, according to the same source.
Abu Dhabi maintained until recently a great enmity against Ankara, accusing it of supporting political Islam and its opposition on various issues in the Middle East.
"Shared Vision"
In Dubai, the tallest tower in the world, the Burj Khalifa, lit up in the colors of the Emirati and Turkish flags to mark the visit of Erdogan, whose last stay in the Emirates dates back to 2013. He was then Prime Minister.
Earlier in the day, WAM reported that Erdogan and Mohammed bin Zayed discussed avenues of cooperation and touched on the latest regional developments.
According to remarks by the Emirati Minister of Economy, Abdallah bin Touq Al-Marri, reported on Monday by the Anadolu Agency, cooperation between the two countries in many fields is part of a "shared vision" with Ankara.
"Dialogue and cooperation between Turkey and the Emirates are important for the peace and stability of the whole region," Erdogan said before his departure from Turkey.
Abu Dhabi hopes to double or even triple trade volumes with Turkey, seen as a route to new markets.
Bilateral trade volume in the first half of 2021 amounted to more than 6.3 billion euros, with a growth jump of 100% compared to the same period in 2020, according to WAM.
Emirates' investments in Turkey reached nearly 4.4 billion euros at the end of 2020. As for Turkish investments in the Emirates, they weigh some 312 million euros, according to the Emirati agency.
"What is needed in the future is not to strengthen the already strong commercial relations, but rather the strategic political partnership between the two countries," tweeted Emirati professor of political science, Abdul Khaleq Abdallah.
Clean up relationships
The Emirates faces a growing threat from Yemeni Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.
Three people were killed in mid-January in Abu Dhabi after an insurgent attack, carried out using drones and missiles, against the Emirates, which is part of a military coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
A diplomatic crisis triggered in June 2017 between Qatar, a close ally of Turkey, and the Emirates had then strained relations between Ankara and Abu Dhabi.
After the reconciliation with the Qatari neighbor in January 2021, the Emirates, whose economy is suffering from fluctuations in oil prices and the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, are seeking to calm relations with Iran, the country's great regional rival. its Saudi ally.
They also normalized their diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, paving the way for multiple agreements.
Turkey is seeking to clean up its relations in the region, at a time when its currency is in free fall.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to travel to Saudi Arabia in February, in what would be his first visit to the kingdom since the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country's consulate in Istanbul.
Ankara has repeatedly claimed that the Saudi authorities were involved "at the highest level" in this murder.
With AFP
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