DUBAI - A UAE delegation, led by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, has concluded a two-day visit to Turkey, on 13th and 14th July, 2022, to enhance cooperation and explore new areas for future collaboration, especially in the energy, industry and advanced technology sectors.

Al Jaber, who met with Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology, Mustafa Varank was accompanied by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology; Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Under-Secretary of MoIAT; Mohammed Saeed AlNeyadi, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the UAE in Turkey; Mansour Al Mulla, Managing Director and CEO of EDGE Group; Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, Director-General of UAE Space Agency; Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar; Mohammed Saif Al-Ariani, Acting CEO of ADNOC International; Samia Bouazza, CEO of Multiply Group; Abdullah Al Shamsi, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Industrial Development Sector; and Mansour Al Mansouri, Chief Operating Officer of G42.

The visit also included meetings with senior government and private sector officials and a UAE-Turkey Investment Workshop. Delegates discussed collaboration across the gas, energy infrastructure, renewable energy, healthcare, biotech, agri-tech, defence, logistics, digital communication, e-commerce and financial services sectors.

Dr. Al Jaber conveyed the greetings of the UAE’s leadership and people to the government and people of the Republic of Turkey. He highlighted that the visit is in line with the leadership’s vision and is one of many that will explore the exciting investment opportunities for growth in both nations across a range of priority sectors.

He emphasised that the two countries share a clear vision for sustainable economic growth and continue to expand their relations, as highlighted by the visit of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to Turkey at the end of 2021, and the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the UAE in February that resulted in cooperation agreements worth millions of dollars to invest in Turkey, in addition to agreements and MoUs to boost cooperation across different fields.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber invited Turkish companies to invest in the UAE’s industrial sector and benefit from industrial investment opportunities in petrochemicals, metals, pharma, medical equipment, electrical machinery, F&B, agri-tech, defence and space. Recently, the UAE held the Make it in the Emirates Forum, where leading national companies unveiled a set of industrial investment opportunities worth AED110 billion, comprising 300 products across 11 sectors.

Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi said, "The continued development of UAE-Turkey relations is a direct result of our leadership’s directives to strengthen global strategic partnerships. Our efforts led to our recent Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) with neighbouring countries to enhance trade and economic cooperation and expand investments."

"Our economic partnership with Turkey is deeply rooted. Non-oil trade between the two countries amounted to about AED50.4 billion in 2021, achieving a growth of 54 percent compared to 2020, and an increase of 86 percent compared to 2019. Turkey accounts for more than three percent of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade and is our seventh largest trading partner. UAE investments in Turkey amounted to almost AED18.3 billion by the end of 2020, while the value of Turkish investments in the UAE amounted to AED1.1 billion at the end of 2019. The UAE announced a $10 billion investment fund in Turkey and the signing of 72 cooperation agreements, highlighting this relationship’s positive trajectory," he added.

Sarah Al Amiri said, "Based on the directives of the UAE leadership, UAE-Turkish relations are flourishing across various sectors. Thanks to both leaderships, we are witnessing a transformation of projects in vital sectors including in advanced technology and space."

"The signing of the MoU between the UAE Space Agency and the Turkish Space Agency that includes space research and technology and joint studies on suborbital flights and satellite systems lies at the heart of the UAE’s efforts to build bridges for space exploration. Ultimately, we believe these partnerships will provide a mutual economic and social positive impact. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Turkey every success in its lunar mission next year," she added.

An agreement was also signed between the UAE Space Agency and the Turkish Space Agency to boost collaboration in scientific fields, training, as well as knowledge and experience transfer.

During the UAE Turkey Investment Workshop, the UAE delegation outlined investment opportunities across the UAE's industrial value chain, with a focus on priority sectors that leverage the use of advanced technologies.

Turkish representatives gave a detailed explanation of the advantages of investing in the country through the Invest in Türkiye initiative.