By Ibrahim Shukralla

ABU DHABI, 29th November, 2021 (WAM) – The official meeting of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed forces, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara last week marked "a new dawn" in the future of the bilateral relations, a top Turkish diplomat told Emirates News Agency (WAM).

Turkey and the UAE have signed 10 agreements in the fields of energy, environment, finance and trade on 24th November during Sheikh Mohamed’s visit. The UAE also announced setting up a US$10 billion investment fund in Turkey, targeting "strategic" sectors such as healthcare, food and energy.

"The visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was highly significant in terms of reaffirming the mutual will at the highest level to strengthen and diversify the relations between Turkey and the UAE," said Tugay Tuncer, Tukey’s Ambassador to the UAE.

In an exclusive interview with WAM, he added, "Both sides have underlined their shared understanding of the importance of the strategic relationship between the two countries as a means to contribute to the security and stability of the region.

"In that respect, it will not be an overstatement [to say] that a new dawn has been unveiled in the future of Turkey-UAE relations."

The Turkish envoy said the existing cooperation between the two countries would establish new avenues in the fields of energy, finance, industry, trade, logistics, defence infrastructure and advanced technologies, as well as cultural exchanges, education, health and tourism.

"The [new] agreements focused mainly on economic ties, but their swift conclusion, availing of the visit of His Highness, served as a testament to the unequivocal political support. Highly positive statements delivered by the Turkish and UAE leaderships and the officials who partook in the signing ceremony, were indeed self-explanatory in that regard. It became clear that both sides define each other as natural partners," he added.

The UAE is Turkey’s largest trading partner in the region. The non-oil trade between the two countries in 2020 amounted to US$8.9 billion, a 21 percent increase compared to 2019.

Ankara’s ambassador believes there is more potential in the economic relations. "Despite the fact that the Turkey-UAE economic relations have continued unabated in the last decade and the trade activity has shown an increase even during the pandemic, there is still an untapped potential in our economic cooperation."

He said there are more than 650 Turkish companies operating in the UAE and around 200 UAE companies in Turkey.

"Recent meetings of the UAE-Turkey Joint Economic Committee and the UAE-Turkey Business Forum [both held in Dubai] were the reflection of the mutual interest and yielded concrete outcomes. The visits of the [delegations from] Turkish Investment Agency and the Finance Office of the Turkish Presidency to the UAE, which preceded the abovementioned meetings, have also been fruitful," the ambassador explained.

"Therefore, the signing of 10 agreements in the field of finance, investment, trade, health and infrastructure during the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed have crowned the ongoing developments in the economic dimension of our bilateral relations and set the course for future cooperation."

The Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlut Cavusoglu, is expected to visit the UAE in December, according to Turkish media reports.

"We hope to see the continuation of high-level contacts and visits between our brotherly countries," Tuncer said.

"As we have opened a new chapter in our relations, I believe that other visits and meetings will follow suit," the ambassador said.