After Qatar, KSA, Prez Erdogan Arrives in UAE, Seeks To Forge Stronger Ties, Media Extols Other senior officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yasar Guler, as well as nearly 200 business people, are accompanying the president to the Emirati capital.
5 min read
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was welcomed on Wednesday with an official ceremony in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi, the last leg of his three-nation Gulf tour.
Erdogan and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held one-on-one talks. Later in the day, Erdogan also attended a state banquet held in his honor.
During the talks, all aspects of bilateral relations were reviewed, and steps to enhance cooperation in various areas, particularly the economy, was discussed and signed several agreements.
Earlier to this, during his visit to the Saudi Arabia and Qatar, several agreements for investments, defence and energy were signed. But beside the agreements and strengthening the bilateral relationships during Turkish President’s visit, media also extolled and hailed this historic and timely trip.
Many local newspapers, which dedicated large spaces to it on their front pages, and to the talks that HE the Turkish President had with HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and similarly in Saudi Arabia as well with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which they described as significant.
Upon his arrival to Saudi Arabia, Saudi news outlets also reported about the deals encompassing investment, the defence industry, energy and communications. The agreements were signed on Monday after delegation meetings led by Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the city of Jeddah, reports Turkish News Agency.
While, Turkish Yeni Safak daily newspaper published on its front page, “Erdogan’s visit occupies a wide space in the Qatari media,” and said that the visit is an important new stage in the relations between Turkiye and Qatar and that it will constitute a new start in bilateral relations between the two countries.
Under the title “50 years of Turkish-Qatari relations crowned with a promising future vision,” the widely circulated Sabah newspaper said that Turkish-Qatari relations witnessed great momentum during that period, as it aimed to strengthen relations in all fields and push them forward. From this concept and shared will, a common vision has been reached in several political and economic issues.
Before his trip to UAE, the Turkish leader arrived on Monday in Saudi Arabia as part of a three-day Gulf tour to strengthen ties. President Erdogan earlier had a meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince behind closed doors at Al-Salam Royal Palace. He was welcomed by a number of high-ranking Saudi officials, including Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself accompanied Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Al-Sallam palace to his residence in Jeddah in a Turkish-made electric vehicle.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented this same car as a gift to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the Turkish president’s visit to the kingdom. The model, called Togg, is Turkey’s first domestically produced electric car.
Earlier to this, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented the same car, ‘Togg’, to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani as well.
Various TV news channels in the region also presented a detailed report on his visit to Saudi Arabia, in which it stated that the prominent fact of Erdogan’s visit to Saudi Arabia is that it will contribute to strengthening the relationship between the gulf countries, supporting the relations of cooperation between the governments, and deepening the fraternal ties between the Turkish and peoples of the host countries. The news channels stressed that Erdogan’s visit to these countries comes at an appropriate time, indicating that it is of the utmost importance in this delicate circumstance the region is going through.
On his arrival to the United Arab Emirates, Emirati media outlets also have hailed the visit of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Local media reports in Emirates said that the UAE and Turkiye strengthened their comprehensive friendship and partnership through four summits and meetings that brought together Emirati President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Erdogan, over the past two years.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday met his UAE counterpart President Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, as well as other Emirati officials, concluding the Turkish President’s three-day Gulf tour.
It is Erdogan’s first regional visit since he was re-elected in May, aimed to revive his country’s economy which is being crippled by a foreign-currency crisis.
Erdogan’s meeting with Al Nahyan marks the fifth summit of its kind in two years. The first and second summits took place in November 2021 and February 2022, with the third summit held via video conference in March 2023 and the fourth in June 2023.
According to the official Emirates News Agency (WAM), relations with Turkiye are of great importance within the UAE’s strategy to strengthen its partnerships, expand its relations with various brotherly and friendly countries, and enhance cooperation in all fields.
For its part, Al-Ittihad newspaper highlighted the five summits between the UAE and Turkiye and their role in strengthening the comprehensive and strategic partnership between the two countries, emphasising the ongoing economic integration.
Local media outlets, such as Al-Bayan, Emirates Today, and Al-Khaleej, also celebrated Erdogan’s arrival in the country and shared video clips of the moment of his arrival.
The UAE and Turkiye have signed dozens of strategic agreements and memorandums of understanding to enhance bilateral cooperation, including economic, security, environmental and technological fields.
“The last stop of our Gulf tour is the United Arab Emirates, with which our relations have been developing in all fields. The UAE is the country with which our mutual trade is the highest in the Gulf region. We want to raise these to their real potential,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish president is joined with a large cabinet delegation including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yasar Guler as well as nearly 200 business people.
Turkey’s Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan joined Erdogan in Doha on Tuesday evening after concluding their meetings on the sidelines of the G-20 finance ministers’ summit in New Delhi. The two officials are accompanying Erdogan in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, where they met with their counterparts.
-Dr. M Shahid Siddiqui (PhD), Follow via Twitter @shahidsiddiqui
