Turkey and the UAE aspire to advance their trade relations during the coming period, reaching an unprecedented figure of $25 billion in relations between them.
Last March, the two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries, which will constitute an advanced historical milestone in the process of qualitative relations, and an era in the path of joint cooperation towards broader areas.
The signing was witnessed at the time by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during a summit they held via visual communication technology.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, the head of the Turkish-Emirati Business Committee of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Council, Tawfik Oz, expressed his expectations that the volume of trade exchange with the UAE would reach $25 billion within 5 years.
Oz said that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached $10 billion at the end of 2022, while the partnership will lead to expanding trade exchanges in various sectors.
The two countries have a comprehensive network of trade relations, according to the Turkish official, adding that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will give bilateral trade relations another dimension.
“The agreement covers the trade exchange of goods and services, and includes measures to facilitate the trade of small and medium enterprises, and regulatory rules related to procurement of public institutions, intellectual property and trade measures.”
He stated that the agreement aims to increase investments and the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, stressing that it does not only include commodity trade, but all complementary elements of trade relations.
The relations between the UAE and Turkey go back to decades of fruitful and constructive cooperation, according to previous statements by the UAE ambassador to Turkey, Saeed Al Dhaheri, pointing out that the two countries celebrated in March the 50th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations.
Oz added, “Through the agreement, the two countries aim to encourage trade and investments, to enable the development of service sectors with high added value, and to increase economic predictability through effective applications and cooperation.”
“The agreement will achieve important gains for Turkey in many sectors, primarily the manufacture and trade of cars, household appliances, petrochemical products, textiles, carpets, shoes, and plastic products.”
The Turkish official expects that the agreement will be the most powerful tool for enhancing trade exchange and investments between the two countries. “Expectations indicate that the volume of trade exchange will rise from $10 billion to $25 billion within 5 years.”
“We, as the Council of Foreign Economic Relations, have been working actively to develop trade relations with the UAE for more than two decades, and the Council has been the biggest supporter of the signing of the agreement.”
The Council intends to organize activities in cooperation with the Turkish diplomatic missions in the Emirates, with the aim of explaining the agreement to the business world in Turkey and providing opportunities to make the most of the agreement.
“These activities will include developing cooperation for companies operating in the informatics, health, energy and food sectors.”
And last March, it was agreed to reduce customs duties on specific products and goods by 82 percent, in return for completely canceling those duties on some other products, which enhances the flow of non-oil intra-trade.
The agreement will provide more than 100,000 jobs in Turkey and about 25,000 in the UAE.
This article was originally published by TurkPress.
