In recent years, the trajectory of relations between the UAE and Turkey has been unmistakably upward. Co-operation has expanded considerably since 2021, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to Ankara, followed by Mr Erdogan’s own state visit to Abu Dhabi the next year. Since then, the two countries have laid the foundations for a dynamic strategic partnership capable not only of delivering economic and diplomatic dividends for their own people, but of strengthening the Middle East as a whole.
President Sheikh Mohamed underscored this potential during his visit to Ankara on Wednesday, when he said the two countries “share a vision of strengthening regional peace and stability through diplomacy”. “Prosperity for the region’s peoples”, the President said, is at the heart of their strategic partnership.
It is an important message at a time when large swathes of the Middle East, from Yemen to Gaza, are benighted by conflict. Emirati and Turkish investment and diplomacy have played a pivotal role in alleviating poverty and promoting development in many of the region's poorest places – efforts that make all the more impact when the two countries work together to boost their own economies.
The UAE and Turkey have signed more than 50 bilateral agreements since 2021, covering sectors such as defence, energy, finance, health, technology and culture. The signing of their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2023 was particularly significant; Turkey and the UAE aim to boost non-oil bilateral trade to $40 billion by 2028.
They have also co-operated closely in critical regional infrastructure projects, such as the Iraq Development Road. That speaks to another shared vision, that the underpinnings of regional peace are comprised of investments in connectivity and inclusive growth.
In moments of crisis, too, UAE-Turkey ties have proved a formidable tool for recovery. Following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in 2023, the UAE was among the first countries to offer assistance, dispatching more than $100 million in humanitarian aid to the affected region.
The relationship is particularly important in the context of the broader recalibration taking place in the geopolitics of the Middle East. The region is navigating a new chapter defined less by rigid blocs and more by pragmatic diplomacy. This was evidenced recently in highly productive, direct talks this month between Azerbaijan and Armenia – whose conflict has preoccupied Turkish governments for decades – hosted in Abu Dhabi. But it has also played out in efforts by regional powers to defuse tensions in Syria, Israel, Iran and elsewhere. In most recent cases where diplomacy has borne fruit, it is the work of regional powers that has made all the difference.
In many ways, the UAE-Turkey partnership can stand as a model for others. It demonstrates that, with diligence and a clear-eyed view of the bigger picture, interests can be aligned based on economic development, political stability and mutual respect. That is a powerful approach for a region that seeks to chart a new course towards a brighter future.
