Trade

UAE-Turkey trade set for 50% rise to $15bn in 2023

By Pramod Kumar

November 1, 2023, 5:20 AM

UAE minister of state for foreign trade Thani Al Zeyoudi and Turkey’s minister of trade Ömer Bolat at the UAE-Turkey joint economic and trade commission in Istanbul

Bilateral trade between the UAE and Turkey is set to jump by 50 percent to hit $15 billion by the end of the year following the signing of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (Cepa) in September.

“We have exceeded $14 billion in the first nine months of this year,” Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing trade minister Ömer Bolat.

“Hopefully, we will have achieved at least $15 billion as of the end of the year,” he told the Turkey-UAE joint economic and trade committee first-term meeting in Istanbul.

Bilateral trade reached $10 billion in 2022.

The minister said that the pace of trade growth is driven by the Cepa, with bilateral trade expected to reach $25 billion.

Bolat disclosed that UAE companies have invested $3.4 billion in Turkey’s renewable energy, water and food safety, health, tourism, transport, infrastructure and finance sector.

On the other hand, Turkish firm’s investment in the UAE stands at $350 million.

Turkey and the UAE signed 13 agreements covering investments worth $50.7 billion during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit in July.

“Nearly $27 billion of this investment package will include investments in the renewable energy sector,” Bolat added.

The UAE currently stands as Turkey’s 13th-largest trade partner for exports and the 15th-largest for imports, resulting in a combined trade volume of $10 billion through 2022.

Last month, Mesaid Ahmet Burak Daglioglu, head of the investment office of the Turkish presidency Daglioglu, said that the Turkish Wealth Fund and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ had established the Turkey Technology Fund with $300 million in capital.

Among the most significant investments made by UAE companies in Turkey is the strategic partnership between DP World and the Turkish Yibitaş Group, as well as the acquisition of Denizbank by Emirates NBD Bank.