Turkey | United Arab Emirates |
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Turkey and the United Arab Emirates share extensive cultural, military and economic ties, but relations have substantially deteriorated since Arab Spring, and later started to recover in the recent years. [1] [2]
Turkey is one of the UAE's largest trading partners, with US$9 billion in annual bilateral trade volume - triggering a rise of 800 percent in the last seven years; [3] the year of 2008 saw foreign trade figures reveal Turkey as one of the UAE's top 10 biggest suppliers while over the past five years (2004-2008), UAE's exports to Turkey have increased six-fold. In an attempt to enhance tourism bonds, the UAE launched new Etihad Airways flights to Istanbul in 2009, serving the city four times a week. [4]
Emirati businessmen have been encouraged by multiple real estate agencies to invest in Turkey, as part of Turkey's ongoing privatization efforts. [5] In 2010, both sides pledged on improving commercial relations through common projects and convene officials in the future to determine possible areas of cooperation. [6]
There is considerable Turkish presence in the UAE including Turkish construction companies which have put their signature on many developments in the region. In addition, there is a small community of Turks in the United Arab Emirates. According to the Turkish embassy, the number of Turkish companies established in the UAE is over 400, with 75 of those operating in and around Abu Dhabi.
On 24 November 2021, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates signed accords on energy and technology investments after talks between President Tayyip Erdogan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Ankara. [7]
In May 2017, the UAE's Ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba described Turkey under Erdoğan as a "long-term threat" to both the UAE and the United States. [8]
In December 2017, the UAE's foreign minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, shared a tweet that claimed an Ottoman general had robbed Medina during Ottoman rule. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded by describing him as an "impertinent man" who was "spoiled by oil". Emirati diplomat Anwar Gargash then stated, "The sectarian and partisan view is not an acceptable alternative, and the Arab world will not be led by Tehran or Ankara." [9]
In March 2018, Gargash stated that relations between the countries "aren’t in their best state" and called on Turkey to "respect Arab sovereignty and deal with its neighbors with wisdom and rationality". [10]
In May 2018, Gargash called for Arab countries to unite against rising Turkish and Iranian influence in the Middle East. [11]
The diplomatic relations between the two countries have soured over differing attitudes to the Egyptian crisis and its aftermath, with Turkey backing the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and the UAE supporting military rule under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. [12]
Turkey accused UAE of supporting the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, with a series of leaked emails in June 2017 by Otaiba lending credence to this allegation. [13] [14] [15]
The UAE has been critical of Turkey's backing of Qatar during the 2017–18 Qatar diplomatic crisis. [16]
In August 2017, the UAE accused Turkey of "colonial and competitive behavior" by "trying to reduce the sovereignty of the Syrian state" through its military presence in Syria. [17]
The UAE has provided support for the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, which fought against Turkish troops in northern Syria. [18] [19] Turkey has accused the UAE of also supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party in its conflict with the Turkish government. [20]
In May 2018, Turkey expressed concern towards the deployment of Emirati troops in Socotra without the Yemeni government being informed beforehand, claiming it presents "a new threat to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Yemen". [21]
In 2019, the United Arab Emirates' leadership announced it would begin the formal process to recognize the Armenian genocide. [22] Emirate of Abu Dhabi had become the first emirate to recognize the genocide in April 2019. [23]
In February 2020, Armenia's Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan led a delegation to the UMEX and SimTEX 2020 exhibitions in Abu Dhabi. Mohammed Ahmed Al-Bowardi, the Minister of State for Defense of the UAE met with Arshakyan, and they discussed strengthening cooperation in both countries' military industries and defence sectors. [24] Later, when the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted, the United Arab Emirates-based Al Arabiya channel openly broadcast Armenian President Armen Sargsyan's speech blasting Turkey and Azerbaijan for the war. [25]
Turkey condemned the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and UAE. [26] The Turkish government threatened to suspend diplomatic relations and recall its ambassador from Abu Dhabi over the Israel-UAE agreement. [27]
Turkey and the UAE reconciliation efforts started to make progress in 2021 with the visit of UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to Turkey. [28] [29] Erdogan visited Abu Dhabi in 2022 to meet UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and signing currency swap and trade agreements between the two countries as well as talks of cooperation in the defense industry. [30] Erdogan's visit was welcomed in a big ceremony to show a shift in the relations in a positive direction. [31] Turkey agreed to sell Bayraktar drones to the UAE as part of restoring relations and increasing cooperation between the nations. Turkish drones proved to be superior in quality to their Chinese counterparts and easier to acquire than American drones. Additionally, the common mistrust of the Biden administration between both countries enabled deeper cooperation over America's decision to not deliver F-35s to Turkey and the UAE, while approving F-35s to Israel and other Western countries. [32] [33]
During the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, amongst the Gulf Cooperation Council members, UAE assisted Turkey the most in earthquake relief aid efforts. [34] [35] [36] The significant role of the Emirates during the earthquakes has played a role on improvement of relations between the two nations. [37] [38]
Turkey and the UAE were the targets of the US sanctions due to their ties with Russia. Both Turkey and the UAE remains key destinations for many Russians since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War and both countries have good relations with Russia against American sanctions. [39]
The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Arab Emirates are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Zayed International Airport, also known as Abu Dhabi International Airport, is the primary international airport serving Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the second busiest airport in the UAE after Dubai International Airport, and is the hub for Etihad Airways as well as an operating base for Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, popularly known by his initials as MBZ or MbZ, is an Emirati royal and politician who currently serves as the third president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, AbZ is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. He is a son of the founder of the United Arab Emirates, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. In 2020, he was a signatory of the Abraham Accords on behalf of the UAE.
The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US, being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East. Both countries are members of the I2U2 Group, which was established in 2021.
Yousef Al Otaiba is the current United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States and Minister of state. Previously Al Otaiba served as non-resident ambassador to Mexico. His father is Petroleum magnate Mana Al Otaiba, who served as the president of OPEC a record six times.
Israel–United Arab Emirates relations had been jagged and fueled by mutual distrust and hatred for several decades, but in the 2010s, the countries' informal relations improved considerably and they began engaging in extensive unofficial cooperation based on their joint opposition to Iran's nuclear program and regional influence. In 2015, Israel opened an official diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Holy See – United Arab Emirates relations are the foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The earliest form of contact between officials of both states was when the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, unofficially met Pope John Paul II in the 1980s. Relations between the two were not established until 31 May 2007. According to a Vatican communiqué, the diplomatic arrangement was founded on a desire to promote “bonds of mutual friendship and of strengthening international cooperation.
Syria–United Arab Emirates relations refer to the relationship between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Syrian Arab Republic. The UAE has an embassy in Damascus and Syria has an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate-general in Dubai. Both countries are members of the Arab League, part of the Middle East region and share close cultural ties.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) are neighbouring countries in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region, and share extensive political and cultural ties. Saudi Arabia maintains an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai of the U.A.E., while the U.A.E. has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates share a naval border and are part of the Arabic-speaking Persian Gulf region. They are both members of the GCC.
Anwar Mohammed Gargash is an Emirati politician who served as the minister of state for foreign affairs between February 2008 and February 2021. Since February 2021, he has been serving as a senior diplomatic advisor to the United Arab Emirates president.
Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) established diplomatic relations in 1976. The diplomatic relations are important because both share the solidarity as Muslim majority countries. Indonesia has an embassy in Abu Dhabi, while the United Arab Emirates has an embassy in Jakarta. Both countries are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), The Non-Aligned Movement and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Mexico–United Arab Emirates relations are the diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Arshak Poghosi Poladian is an Armenian diplomat, historian, orientalist and author. Since 2019, he has served as Armenian's ambassador to Tunisia and Morocco with residence in Yerevan. Previously Poladian was ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Armenia to Syria from 2007 to 2018 and Armenia's non-resident ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 2011 to 2018. Poladian also served as the Armenian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2002 to 2006, and as the Armenian ambassador (non-resident) to the State of Kuwait and Kingdom of Bahrain from 2003 to 2007.
The Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement, officially the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel, was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates on August 13, 2020, officially referred to as the Abraham Accords. The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel, as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so. Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries. The agreement was signed at the White House on September 15, 2020. It was approved unanimously by the Israeli cabinet on October 12 and was ratified by the Knesset on October 15. The UAE parliament and cabinet ratified the agreement on October 19. The agreement went into effect on January 5, 2021.
Armenia–United Arab Emirates relations are the diplomatic relations between Armenia and the United Arab Emirates. Official relations exist between both nations since 1998. Armenia has an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai. The United Arab Emirates has embassy in Yerevan.
Hend Mana Saeed Al Otaiba is an Emirati government official who currently serves as the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to France.
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Events in the year 2022 in the United Arab Emirates.