Taking a break from the election campaign for municipal elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt. His first stopover is Dubai where he will attend the World Governments Summit, an international event that will be participated by prominent names, from the WHO director to the Rwandan president, as well as high-ranking representatives from the Gulf countries. Türkiye, along with India and Qatar, are guests of honor of the summit between Feb. 12 and Feb. 14.

On Feb. 14, the president is scheduled to visit Egypt, in his first visit in more than a decade and at a time of normalization of ties between Ankara and Cairo.

In Dubai, the president will address the summit as a keynote speaker. On the sidelines of the event, he is expected to hold bilateral talks with his counterparts attending the summit and a meeting with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Türkiye and the UAE intensified diplomatic efforts to rebuild links and trade and sought to ramp up cooperation in various industries, particularly in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

The rapprochement was marked by intensified bilateral visits, crowned with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's trip to Abu Dhabi last July as part of his Gulf tour, including stops in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The tour came after Erdoğan secured reelection in late May and builds on Ankara's diplomatic efforts since 2021 to normalize strained ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi visit saw the signing of 13 agreements covering investments worth $50.7 billion (TL 1.53 trillion), encompassing deepened collaboration in energy, transportation, infrastructure, logistics, e-commerce, finance, health care, food, tourism, real estate, construction, the defense industry, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

Türkiye's exports to the UAE rose by almost $2.7 billion in 2023, according to the data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM). The shipments rose to nearly $5.92 billion from $3.65 billion in 2022.

The momentum stems mainly from the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement that entered into force last September, providing an extra boost expected to help the bilateral trade eventually reach $25 billion.

In Egypt, the president is scheduled to hold talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. His meetings there will focus on improving Turkish-Egyptian relations and reviving high-level cooperation mechanisms.

Erdoğan’s meetings will inevitably include discussion on the current situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. He is expected to exchange views with his counterparts on the issue. Erdoğan is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, namely the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, which Türkiye views as the best solution to the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict. Türkiye leads efforts for an immediate humanitarian pause and escalated its criticism of Israel after indiscriminate killings by Israel in the Palestinian territories. Ankara contributes to diplomatic efforts to stop Israel and seeks to hold it accountable for war crimes and genocide in Gaza. Erdoğan is critical of the West for support to the Israeli administration in the latter’s oppression of Palestinians and seeks to rally the Muslim and Arab world to take a stance against the Netanyahu government’s "crimes."

Erdoğan’s visit will be his first since Ankara and Cairo upgraded relations by appointing ambassadors last year, after maintaining diplomacy at the level of charge d'affaires since the 2013 military coup, which overthrew the late Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.

After Morsi was toppled, diplomatic ties were downgraded but economic ties remained largely unharmed. In 2022, Türkiye was the largest importer of Egyptian goods, totaling $4 billion. In 2023, Cairo allowed Turkish citizens to obtain a visa on arrival, paving the way for advanced tourism.

Normalization accelerated after Erdoğan and el-Sissi shook hands in Doha at the World Cup in 2022 and gained further pace following the deadly February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye, Erdoğan’s reelection in May and the appointment of ambassadors to each other’s capitals in July.

Since then, the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders summit in September and held conversations over the phone, particularly on the latest round of the Palestine-Israel conflict that broke out on Oct. 7.

Cairo and Ankara have backed opposing factions in Libya’s yet unresolved conflict, and also over maritime borders in the gas-rich Eastern Mediterranean. However, Türkiye has dismissed claims of rivalry with Egypt in the region and reiterated willingness for more cooperation.