Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an extensive economic partnership deal to boost trade, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday.
Speaking in Istanbul, Erdoğan said the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will take economic and trade relations to a new phase, adding that he believes it will enable trade volume between the countries to increase to $25 billion in five years.
Speaking at the signing ceremony via video link, Erdoğan underlined that the economic and trade relations between the two countries will enter a new phase with the signing of the agreement.
The 50-year Türkiye-UAE relations are based on strong foundations, Erdoğan said, adding: "Thanks to the agreement, the barriers to trade in goods and services will be removed, and the activities of our investors and entrepreneurs will be facilitated."
"In this way, we will build an economic bridge extending from Europe to North Africa, from Russia to the Gulf, on solid foundations," he added.
Also, he expressed his gratitude to the UAE for its support following the Feb. 6 twin earthquakes in southern Türkiye.
"The Turkish nation will never forget the helping hand extended to them," he added.
More than 45,000 people died in Türkiye in the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes on Feb. 6. The earthquakes, which were centered in the province of Kahramanmaraş, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Hatay, Adana, Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Adıyaman, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazığ and Şanlıurfa.
Ties between Türkiye and the Arab world are experiencing a major thaw after years of tense relations. The two countries have seen their ties affected by regional tensions, including the conflict in Libya, where the UAE and Türkiye have backed opposing sides in recent years.
Türkiye is also engaged in an effort to mend its frayed ties with regional powers, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Erdoğan had reiterated that Türkiye hopes to maximize its cooperation with Egypt and the Gulf nations "on a win-win basis," at a time when Ankara intensified diplomacy to mend its fraught ties with Cairo and some Gulf Arab nations after years of tensions.