DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Turkish
President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on business leaders in the wealthy UAE
Tuesday to invest in his country, which is in the grips of an economic crisis.
اضافة اعلان
Erdogan arrived in
the
UAE capital Abu Dhabi on Monday for a two-day visit to revive relations
that were long strained by regional disputes, marking his first trip to the
oil-rich Gulf country in nearly a decade.
“As the leading representatives of the private
sector in the United Arab Emirates, I am sure you fully comprehend the benefits
of establishing commercial and investment partnerships with
Turkey,” he told
investors at a business conference in Abu Dhabi.
“It is you, the esteemed members of our business
world, who will realize the two countries’ potential, especially in trade and
investments.”
Erdogan’s visit comes after Crown Prince Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan travelled to Ankara in November on the first
high-level visit to Turkey since 2012.
The Turkish president said on Tuesday that that trip
“started a new era” with the UAE, adding there was a “strong collective will to
develop trade relations and increase investments”.
13 agreements
Erdogan and Sheikh Mohammed
on Monday oversaw the signing of 13 cooperation agreements and memoranda of
understanding, including a letter of intent on cooperation in the defense
industries, according to the UAE’s official WAM news agency.
Other areas of cooperation included health,
technology, climate action and crisis and disaster management, the news agency
said.
Turkey-UAE trade topped 26.4 billion dirhams ($7.2
billion) in the first half of 2021. The UAE hopes to double or triple trade volume
with Turkey, which it sees as a route to new markets.
About 400 Emirati companies operate in Turkey, the
UAE’s 11th largest trading partner, WAM said.
Erdogan on Tuesday also met with UAE Prime Minister
and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, at the Expo 2020
world fair, where the two discussed ways to develop bilateral relations.
Turkey and the UAE have backed opposing sides in
regional conflicts, including in Libya, and have sparred over issues such as
gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish media had also claimed
Abu Dhabi played a
role in the 2016 coup plot against Erdogan and that it allegedly funneled money
to coup plotters to oust him.
Turkey-UAE relations were particularly tense after
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain in 2017 cut all links with Qatar, a close
Turkish ally. Those relations were restored in January 2021.
But Erdogan has since last year sought to improve
ties with regional rivals in the face of increasing diplomatic isolation that
has caused foreign investment to dry up, particularly from the West.
Following Sheikh Mohammed’s visit in November, the
UAE announced a $10 billion fund for investments in Turkey, where a currency
crisis has slashed people’s purchasing power and inflation last month surged to
a near 20-year high.
Last month, Erdogan said
he would visit Saudi Arabia in February.
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