UAE-Turkey non-oil intra-trade surge to $18.9bn in 2022

The UAE’s non-oil internal trade with Turkey is reported to increase by 40% to $18.9 billion in 2022, thereby placing it among the UAE’s top 10 trading partners and accounting for more than 3% of its non-oil external trade Wow.

Its total direct foreign investment in Turkey exceeds US$5 billion, placing the UAE among the top 15 countries investing in the country.

The two countries have close trade and investment ties, and the recently signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has given a major boost to the relationship.

Bilateral relations between the two countries have continued to make positive progress over the past two years, culminating in the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi with Wow.

The agreement, which ushers in a new era of partnership and economic integration, stems from the strong foundation of close trade and investment ties between the two countries, he said.

The UAE-Turkey CEPA is the fourth such agreement, following similar agreements with India, Israel and Indonesia.

The UAE-Turkey CEPA aims to stimulate long-term, sustainable and comprehensive economic growth for the mutual benefit of both countries by eliminating or reducing tariffs on 82 percent of goods and products, which account for more than 93 percent of non-oil trade, he said.

In addition, the agreement improves market access to Turkey for UAE exporters, including key industries such as construction, metals and their products, polymers and other manufactured goods.

The deal is expected to help increase non-oil bilateral trade to $40 billion a year within five years, while also creating 25,000 new jobs by 2031, he added.

By the end of 2021, the UAE’s total investment in Turkey reached approximately US$7.8 billion, covering various fields such as financial services, real estate, transportation, renewable energy, ports and logistics.

Leading UAE companies investing in Turkey include ADQ, Emirates NBD Bank, Emaar, International Holding Company (IHC), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Mubadala.