Bilateral trade agreement signed between UAE and Turkey

UAE Minister of the Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri and Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus met in Abu Dhabi to sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the latest in a series of deals between the two countries. Negotiations for CEPA had begun last year.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the signing virtually.

The new deal aims to double the trade volume between the UAE and Turkey to reach $40 to $45 billion within the next five years. The Gulf state currently has similar agreements with Israel, India, and Indonesia.

According to Bloomberg, 82% of the tariff fees between the two countries will also be cut as part of the deal, which focuses on strategic sectors such as agritech, food security, real estate, and clean energy.

Non-oil trade volume between the two countries has increased significantly in the past few years. In 2022, it was up 40% from the previous year and had reached $18.9 billion. In 2021, Sheikh Mohamed had visited Turkey where he announced a $10 billion investment fund in the country. In February 2022, Erdogan visited the UAE, and 13 other cooperation agreements were signed.

UAE Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi, who says “Turkey has huge potential for growth,” noted in a Reuters interview that "The $10 billion fund is attracting a lot of investments from the UAE, but at the same time this CEPA will open more doors, because there will be proper mechanisms for choosing projects and investments.”

President Sheikh Mohamed commented on the latest trade deal, saying, “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."

President Erdogan noted that CEPA would mark a “new chapter” in the relations between the two countries and remarked, “Our efforts which are empowered from our shared history, culture, and traditional values are not only contributing to our bilateral economic ties but also significantly contributing to the prosperity, welfare and stability of our region as well as the globe.”