Turkey and UAE: $50.7B Deals, High Level Strategic Council

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ended his Gulf trip with a $50.7 Billion deal with the United Arab Emirates in his kitty. He sealed several lucrative deals to boost the Turkish economy. 

The Presidential Communications Directorate said Turkey and the UAE reached an agreement to establish a High-Level Strategic Council, which will chaired by the respective presidents of both the countries. 

“The parties also decided to advance the existing cooperation in fields such as energy, transportation, infrastructure, logistics, e-commerce, finance, health, food, tourism, real estate, construction, defense, industry, artificial intelligence, and advanced technologies. The total value of agreements signed in these areas is worth $50.7 Billion.” 

The UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said he held fruitful talks with the Turkish president.  He shared on Twitter that the two countries remain committed to fostering regional stability, growth and sustainable economic development.

Today in Abu Dhabi I enjoyed fruitful talks with President @RTErdogan as we explored ways to continue building on the close, historic ties between our two countries. The UAE and Türkiye remain committed to fostering regional stability, growth and sustainable economic development. pic.twitter.com/jSa9eVJUuS

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) July 19, 2023

President Erdogan said Turkey will ensure that relations with the UAE are addressed regularly at the highest level through the High-Level Strategic Council mechanism. He added that Turkiye aims to strengthen legal infrastructure with the UAE in areas including investment promotion, security, renewable energy, and transportation

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Turkey’s finance minister Mehmet Simsek said they are grateful for the UAE’s continued strong support for Turkiye. At the UAE-Turkiye Business Forum, he highlighted that Turkiye’s economic program has three main pillars – a sound monetary policy, fiscal discipline, and structural reforms. “Turkiye aims to strengthen macroeconomic stability through credible rule-based policies. We have already taken strong initial steps to improve public finances and to reduce persistent high inflation through a multi-pronged strategy.” 

It should be noted that Turkey’s charm offensive to restore relations with former regional rivals, has helped Turkish-Emirati ties improve significantly since 2021. This has also resulted in increased investment in Turkey. The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to promoting stability, within the region and internationally, with shared belief in the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for solving disputes and avoiding conflict.