Turkish-UAE relations and trade exchange between the two countries

History of Turkey-United Arab Emirates relations

Since the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, Turkey opened an embassy in 1979, while the United Arab Emirates opened an embassy in Ankara in 1983. Relations have seen remarkable economic developments after 2005, with a number of United Arab Emirates companies strongly entering the Turkish market. UAE Capital Towers Group has invested about $900 million since 2007 in the Turkish market.

Until 2015, the strength of economic relations between Turkey and the UAE was the largest and most developed at the level of the Arab Gulf states.

However, the qualitative leap in the development of relations between the two countries took place after the visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to the Emirates, on April 25, 2016, during which he met with his counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

The visit was described as the first in a series of developments in relations between the two countries. During that visit, Cavusoglu laid the foundations for its development in all areas, with trade between the two countries reaching $9 billion and supposed to develop to $15 billion.

Turks in the Emirates: Turkish presence in the Emirates

According to official statistics, around 10 thousand Turkish citizens live on the territory of the Emirates. The number of Turkish businesses registered with the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates by the end of 2015 reached 69. The number of commercial agencies reached 73 and the number of registered brands during the same period reached 1713 brands.

Emiratis in Turkey: The Emirati Presence in Turkey

If we review the number of Emirati visitors to Turkey, with the aim of tourism, Turkish statistics indicate that some 45,000 UAE citizens visit each year.

As for the presence at the level of economic entities, we can talk about the most prominent of these models, including the opening of the Emirati Emaar Real Estate Company (a semi-governmental building that is building the Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower), the tallest building in the world) in August 2016, a park in the tourist city of Antalya in Turkey on an area of ​​up to To 639 thousand square meters, worth one billion dollars, in cooperation with the global "Rixos" Hotels Group.

The Emirati Abraaj Capital Group, which manages $ 9 billion in assets and has an office in Istanbul, has invested about $ 900 million since 2007 in the Turkish market, according to a previous statement by the group.

In May 2016, Dubai World Ports State Corporation officially opened Dubai World Ports - Yaremça, one of Turkey's largest offshore terminals.

What is the nature of UAE - Turkish relations right now?

The UAE is an important market for Turkish contractors in the construction sector, as, until 2013, Turkish companies had implemented 100 projects worth $ 8.5 billion.

The Emirati desire to achieve a new rapprochement with Turkey was evident, while the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, announced when he confirmed that his country wants normal relations with Turkey, speaking of encouraging indications to achieve this, and Anwar Gargash said, during a press conference on January 7. The second is 2021, that the UAE is Turkey's "primary partner number one" in the Middle East, indicating that the UAE "does not cherish any hostility" with Turkey.

According to the Turkish newspaper "Turkey," contacts between Ankara and Abu Dhabi are taking place with a view to improving relations, especially since the Emirates has taken a step forward, when the granting of entry visas to Turkish citizens to the Emirates has been normalized, after being restricted in the previous period, and Turkey has also appointed a new ambassador to the Emirates.

What are the most important Emirati investments in Turkey?

Small and medium-sized enterprises, entrepreneurship, renewable energy sectors, manufacturing, food, pharmaceutical and medical industries, tourism, consumer goods and services, financial and logistics services, and retail trade, commercial centers, and hotels are the main investments of the United Arab Emirates in Turkey.

Paradoxically, trade relations between the two countries surged in 2017, reaching $14.6 billion.

How much are the UAE investments in Turkey?

There are a large number of investments between Turkey and the Emirates directly, as well as the speed of the investments between them and the volume of trade.

The United Arab Emirates ranks first among the Gulf countries in investing in Turkey, with investments amounting to $4.3 billion, and Qatar comes in second place with investments of $2.7 billion, and in third place, Saudi Arabia's investments in Turkey are estimated at $2 billion, then Kuwait comes in fourth place. $1.9 billion, according to Anadolu Agency.

At a time when Gulf investment in Turkey over the last 18 years has reached $11.4 billion; The years 2005, 2006, and 2008 were the most frequent for Gulf investments in Turkey.

What are the most important Turkish investments in the Emirates?

The United Arab Emirates is an important market for Turkish contractors to invest in the construction sector. Until 2013, Turkish companies implemented $8.5 billion worth of projects, and Turkish businesses invest in the Emirates, in addition to having more than 1,700 Turkish trademarks registered in the Emirates that stimulate investment between the two countries.

Trade exchange between Turkey and the UAE

What are the most important Turkish exports to the Emirates?

Turkish exports to the Emirates vary, but the most common ones are precious stones, metals, air parts and modes of transport, oil derivatives, machinery and appliances, iron, and steel.

What are the most important UAE exports to Turkey?

Among the most important UAE exports to Turkey are gold, aluminum, jewelry, oil, mineral oils, chemicals and iron.

What is the volume of trade exchange between Turkey and the UAE?

Trade exchange between the UAE and Turkey reached advanced levels in less than a decade, as the total non-oil foreign trade between the two countries reached about $7.4 billion by the end of 2015, including free zones, while it reached about $4.2 billion during the first half of 2016.

The volume of mutual trade between the two sides during the year 2019 amounted to about $7.4 billion, while this number was about $7.6 billion in 2018.

The value of Turkish exports to the United Arab Emirates in 2019 amounted to $3.5 billion, while the value of its imports from the UAE in the same year reached $4.33 billion.

The United Arab Emirates is the 12th largest importer of Turkish goods and the 9th largest exporter of the Turkish market.

Turkey ranks 15th in the world for the trading partners of the United Arab Emirates and represents the sixth-largest importer from the United Arab Emirates, which gives an indication of the possibility of moving this relationship to a higher level of coordination and partnership between the two countries.

Emirati investments in Turkey’s real estate

Reports indicate an increase in the volume of Emirati investments in the real estate sector and the expansion of the construction of the hotel, resorts, and villas, in many tourist areas in Turkey such as Antalya and the Mediterranean region in general, Trabzon, and the Black Sea region, Bursa, Yalova, and Sapanca. Emirati companies are also active in the Construction of apartments and residential complexes in Trabzon and Bursa, with a capital of half a billion dollars.

Turkey has become an attractive environment for Arabs to buy properties and implement projects, for being a safe investment environment, intersecting with government facilities, exemptions, and reductions, as Emiratis achieved less than 5% of all real estate sales to foreigners in Turkey during August 2020.

In particular, European studies point to Turkey's second world ranking after New Zealand for real estate sector activity.

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The future of the Emirati-Turkish relations

Experts expect that the closest scenario between the UAE and Turkey is to work on strengthening economic relations, especially after the return of normal relations between them, at a time when the UAE is one of the important markets for Turkish products, and the Turkish economy also depends on investment flows, as the UAE is among the important numbers in foreign investment in Turkey.

Among the indications that economic and trade relations are moving to a more advanced stage that will benefit both parties, is the fact that Turkey is an important market for Emirati products and exports, as well as being a window to reach a number of European and Asian markets, and on the other hand, the UAE represents a hub for the link between East and West, reflecting the promising possibilities for developing common economic and trade relations and reaching broader prospects in the future.

Economists confirm that there is no impact on Emirati investments in Turkey, especially since companies have long-term plans and projects.

 

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Edited by Imtilak Real Estate©

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