Positive signals from UAE

sign of the thaw between Turkey IN ANOTHER and the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, stated that Turkey is their one of the most important trade partners and they wish to carry bilateral relations further. In an exclusive interview with daily DUNYA, Al Zeyoudi pointed out that new investment opportunities can be created in strategic sectors such as education, health, 5G infrastructure, artificial intelligence, fintech, agritech and food processing, e-commerce, information and communication technology, logistics, renewable energy and tourism. Turkey is particularly important both in terms of boosting investment, trade and economic growth, and ensuring a new era based on regional stability and cooperation, Al Thani noted.

The diplomatic traffic the UAE and Turkey, which began with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reception of UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan last month, is interpreted as a new page has opening on the Ankara-Abu Dhabi relationship. •pportunities to increase commercial and economic cooperation, as well as regional issues, were key topics during talks.

Al Zeyoudi stated that gold has been one of the most important commodities traded between the UAE and Turkey over the last 10 years, constituting an average of 90% of total non-oil trade. He pointed out new investment opportunities in strategic sectors.

MUTUAL INVESTMENTS TO INCREASE

Turkey, one of the UAE’s most important partners in international trade, ranked 11th on a global basis among non-oil foreign trade partners in 2020. Total non-oil trade was approximately USD 9bn, up 21% compared to 2019. The annual total value of UAE-Turkey foreign trade has ranged between USD 7bn and USD 13bn over the last 10 years. Preliminary data for the first half of 2021 show that total UAE-Turkey foreign trade has reached USD 7.2bn. “Undoubtedly, these figures reflect the strong potential for further business cooperation and the UAE is keen to strengthen it further.”

He is very optimistic that the private sector in both countries will enter each other’s markets more as the UAE-Turkey relationship continues to strengthen. “Both the UAE and Turkish economies offer promising business opportunities for foreign investors in many sectors. Therefore, we expect mutual investments to increase significantly in the coming years,” he noted.

INVESTORS DISCOVER NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade

The Joint Economic Committee (JEC), which will be hosted by the UAE in the coming months, is another important tool to help boost trade and investment and enable us to explore new areas of cooperation.

The current UAE-Turkey Business Council can be used to develop and strengthen trade relations between both countries, Al Zeyoudi added. “The Joint Economic Committee (JEC), which will be hosted by the UAE in the coming months, is another important tool to help boost trade and investment and enable us to explore new areas of cooperation. The Turkish business world can also benefit from the opportunities offered by the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai. As the economic outlook continues to improve as we emerge from the pandemic, we see many private sector companies in the UAE exploring opportunities in Turkey.”