Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates will continue to work closely on promoting economic development, said the Speaker of the Federal National Council of UAE on Monday.
Saqr Ghobash participated in the swearing-in ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday.
He conveyed "the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on his re-election as President of the Republic of Türkiye."
"The Emirati participation in the inauguration ceremony reflects the special position that Türkiye holds for the leadership and people of the UAE," Ghobash told Anadolu Agency (AA).
He also confirmed "the UAE's sincere desire to strengthen relations with Türkiye."
"The visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Türkiye in November 2021 and the visit of His Excellency President Erdoğan to the UAE in February 2022 constituted an important leap in the development of relations between our two countries," Ghobash told AA.
"The UAE and Türkiye are active and influential members of the regional and international work systems," he added.
He said, "The distinguished relation between the two countries has an important role in laying the foundations for promoting peace and regional economic development."
Ghobash stressed that "the current international and regional situation requires more dialogue, cooperation and understanding to enhance trust and multiple viewpoints on issues of common concern."
"Our two countries have a great opportunity to deepen cooperation in the fields of technology, renewable energy, culture and tourism," he added.
He also pointed out that "the active Turkish participation in Expo 2020 Dubai reflected the importance of building bridges of cooperation between our two countries."
"The sincere will of the leadership of our two countries, especially with the re-election of President Erdoğan, constitutes the main pillar for the development of strategic relations between the UAE and Türkiye," said Ghobash.
He noted that "the UAE is Türkiye's first trading partner in the Gulf, and 12th at the global level."
"There are more than 400 companies with Emirati capital operating in Türkiye and more than 200 Turkish companies operating in the UAE," he added.
Ghobash considered that "the past months were pivotal, especially in the field of economic and trade cooperation."
"Many investments took place in key areas such as transport, healthcare and energy," he said. "This reflects the desire of the two countries to increase positive participation to enhance economic and trade opportunities."
He said that the two countries have the opportunity to help many countries in digital transformation thanks to their advanced technological infrastructure.
"Parliamentary relations play a pivotal role in strengthening ties between countries," Ghobash said.
"This certainly applies to the parliamentary relations between the Federal National Council and the Turkish Grand National Assembly," he added.
Ghobash affirmed that "Türkiye and the UAE can develop relations at the parliamentary level by increasing the scope of parliamentary visits at the level of presidency and friendship committees."
"Our two councils can also agree to establish joint action mechanisms through which they can exchange experiences in the field of oversight and legislative work," he added.
Regional stability
"The strong and distinguished UAE-Turkish relations represent a cornerstone of regional and international peace and security," the Emirati official told AA.
He also stressed that "strong bilateral relations contribute to building a unified position for confronting a regional or international crisis."
"The region cannot bear more polarization," he noted. "The coming decades need more communication, integration and cooperation in political, economic, technological, health and food sectors."
He affirmed that "the UAE seeks through its diplomacy to build a state of interdependence based on common interests among the countries of the region."