Tue 15 February 2022:
Turkey and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday signed 13 agreements in various fields during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the Gulf country.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in nearly a decade, as ties improve between the two countries.
Erdogan was greeted by the Gulf state’s de facto ruler Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who visited Ankara last November when investment accords worth billions of dollars were signed.
The Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Monday that the two countries signed 13 agreements including on defence, trade, climate change, industry and the economy.
Agreements on the defense industry, health, climate change, industry, technology, trade, economy, culture, agriculture, trade, economy, youth, transportation, disaster management, meteorology, communication, and archive were signed during the meeting between the Turkish and UAE delegation chaired jointly by Erdogan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Speaking earlier at a news conference at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Erdogan said the visit would aim to shape the next 50 years of “friendship and brotherhood with the UAE”.
“We do not consider the security and stability of all brotherly countries in the Gulf region separate from our own,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan’s visit – the first since 2013 – “opens a new, positive page in bilateral relations”, Anwar Gargash, adviser to the UAE president, said in a tweet.
زيارة الرئيس رجب طيب اردوغان الى دولة الامارات والتي تأتي بعد زيارة الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان إلى الجمهورية التركية، تفتح صفحة إيجابية جديدة في العلاقات الثنائية بين البلدين، وتنسجم مع توجه الامارات نحو تعزيز جسور التواصل والتعاون الهادفة إلى الاستقرار والازدهار في المنطقة.
— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) February 13, 2022
Translation: The visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the UAE, which comes after the visit by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Turkish republic, opens a new, positive page in bilateral relations between the two countries and is in harmony with the UAE’s Efforts to build stronger communication and cooperation bridges that aim towards a stable, flourishing region.
According to the Turkish Presidency, Erdogan said: “The complementary structure of the economies of the two countries actually points to a potential far beyond the current figures.”
“The purpose of our visit is to quickly realize this potential,” he added.
A cooperation protocol on media was also signed by Turkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and UAE Government Media Office head Saeed al Eter.
The protocol aims to increase friendly relations between the two countries and to develop relations in the fields of media and communication.
According to the protocol, the two countries will encourage mutual visits of representatives from the media and communication world every year in order to get to know each other’s current economic, political, cultural and social lives more closely and to exchange views on communication activities.
There will also be mutual internship and training opportunities to young journalists, media members and technical staff of the two countries.
“Today, we signed a cooperation protocol in the ‘Media and Communication Fields’ between the Republic of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
“With this important protocol, the two countries will join forces in the field of media and communication,” said Altun on Twitter.
Erdogan is in the UAE for a two-day visit at the invitation of Al Nahyan.
Ties between Turkiye and the Arab world are experiencing a major thaw after years of tense relations.
‘Stability and security’
Erdogan’s visit comes as the UAE faces a growing threat from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have in recent weeks launched a series of drone and missile attacks on the Gulf country and prompted increased defense cooperation with the United States and France.
Ties between Turkey and the UAE were particularly tense after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut all links with Qatar – a close ally of Ankara – in 2017. Relations were restored in January 2021.
Erdogan has since last year sought to improve Turkey’s ties with regional rivals in the face of harsh isolation that has caused foreign investment to dry up – particularly from the West.
The Abu Dhabi crown prince’s visit led to the announcement of a $10-billion fund for investments in Turkey. Both countries also signed several agreements on energy, environment, finance, and trade.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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