The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, said, on Friday, that an economic partnership agreement with Ankara will provide more than 100,000 jobs in Turkey, and about 25,000 in the UAE.
This came in a press conference following the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries, in Abu Dhabi, with the participation of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan via visual communication technology.
The signing ceremony of the agreement was also attended by Al-Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri, and Turkish Minister of Trade Muhammad Mush.
In a press conference after the signing, Al-Zeyoudi said that the agreement will provide about 25,000 jobs in the UAE economy, and 100,000 jobs in the Turkish economy.
He added that the agreement will enter into force after the ratification of the procedures within 3 to 6 months, while implementation will begin within a year.
For his part, Al-Marri said that his country “will continue its joint cooperation with friendly Turkey in the economic aspect to complete its efforts to achieve real economic integration that serves the aspirations of the two countries and achieves mutual benefit.”
He added, “We are meeting today to talk about a historic milestone in the long-term relations between the UAE and Turkey, as we have just signed the comprehensive economic partnership to launch a new era of partnership between the two countries.”
The UAE Minister of Economy stated that his country’s partnership with Turkey “will reflect positively on the entire Middle East region and on the global trade movement in general, given the important role that the UAE and Turkey play in facilitating the flow of international trade, as they are among the most vital economies in the region.”
Al-Marri stated that the signing of the agreement “paves the way for the establishment of a new platform for regional progress and prosperity at a crucial juncture for the global economy.”
“The two countries share their desire to work together to launch a new path of shared growth and mutual opportunities,” he said.
He pointed out that “according to the agreement, customs duties on about 93 percent of the value of non-oil intra-trade will be canceled or reduced, which will enhance the flow of bilateral trade to reach $40 billion over the next five years, compared to about $19 billion currently.”
For his part, the Turkish Minister of Trade said that signing the agreement will contribute to enhancing trade exchange and investments between his country and the UAE.
Mosh, via Twitter, expressed his congratulations to the two countries for signing the agreement, which he said would raise trade exchange between Turkey and the UAE to the highest levels.
It should be noted that the volume of non-oil trade between the UAE and Turkey amounted to about 50.4 billion dirhams ($13.7 billion) in 2021, achieving a growth of 54 percent compared to 2020, and an increase of 86 percent compared to 2019, according to the Emirates News Agency, WAM.
According to the agency, Turkey has more than 3 percent of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade, and it ranks seventh among its largest trading partners.
The volume of Emirati investments in Turkey exceeded 18.3 billion dirhams ($5 billion) by the end of 2020, while the value of Turkish investments in the UAE amounted to 1.1 billion dirhams ($300 million) by the end of 2019, according to the agency.
In November 2021, the UAE established a fund worth 36.73 billion dirhams ($10 billion) to support investments in Turkey, with a focus on strategic sectors such as energy, health and food security.
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