Presidents of UAE, Turkey witness signing of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

The President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, witnessed the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) between both nations during a virtual summit on Friday.‏

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of the Economy, and ‏Mehmet Mus, the Turkish Minister of Trade, signed the agreement, heralding a new era of bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The pact contributes to stimulating trade, increasing the flow of investment and creating joint opportunities in priority sectors.

The Cepa with Turkey is the fourth of its kind to be concluded by the UAE as part of its global economic agreements programme, following similar agreements with India, Israel, and Indonesia.

The UAE-Turkey Cepa aims to achieve mutual benefits for both countries and stimulate long-term, sustainable, and comprehensive economic growth by eliminating or reducing customs duties on 82 per cent of goods and products, representing more than 93 per cent of non-oil trade.

Additionally, the agreement improves market access to Turkey for exporters from the UAE, including major sectors such as construction, metals and their products, polymers, and other manufactured products.It is expected that the agreement will contribute to increasing non-oil bilateral trade to $40 billion annually within five years, while also creating 25,000 new job opportunities by 2031. In addition, the agreement is expected to increase UAE exports to Türkiye by 21.7 per cent.

Non-oil exports to Turkey amounted to $5.6 billion in 2022, an increase of 109 per cent compared to 2021, while the value of re-export operations from the UAE to the world grew by 87 per cent to reach $2.3 billion in 2022.

At the beginning of the virtual call, Sheikh Mohamed warmly welcomed President Erdogan and expressed his pleasure to be meeting with him again. He also welcomed the opportunity provided by the agreement to strengthen and enhance relations between the two countries, stating: "We are happy to be signing this Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which the UAE considers to be a highly important agreement with a valued and friendly country."

Sheikh Mohamed also expressed his gratitude to the Turkish President for his readiness to support the signing of the partnership, despite the current situation in Türkiye following the recent earthquake. He stated: "I pray to God to protect Türkiye and its people from all harm and to give you help and strength to overcome these circumstances. We are confident in the ability of the Turkish people to prevail and move towards progress and development."

Sheikh Mohamed reiterated the UAE's firm position in standing alongside Türkiye and offering support where needed, remarking that the approach of building bridges of cooperation and solidarity was inherited from the late Sheikh Zayed.

He commented that the signing of the Cepa reflects the significant development witnessed in bilateral relations in recent years, as the total non-oil trade between the UAE and Türkiye reached $19 billion in 2022, an increase of 40 per cent compared to 2021 and 112 per cent compared to 2020. This makes Türkiye the fastest-growing among the UAE's top 10 trading partners.

Sheikh Mohamed stated that this agreement "demonstrates the common will to launch a new phase of relations between our two nations in various fields. We hope it will contribute to strengthening the bonds of economic cooperation and advancing the development of both countries towards a bright future."