Director of Communications Altun: "We consider Türkiye and the UAE to be significant players in the region as political and economic powers. As Türkiye, our goal is to maintain a foreign policy based on cooperation and development in the Gulf region and the Middle East."
Prior to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Presidency's Directorate of Communications hosted a panel discussion titled "Looking Towards the Future: Cooperation between Türkiye and the UAE."
The panel, which was held online, discussed the further deepening of recent Türkiye-UAE relations as well as the evaluation of cooperation opportunities in various fields.
The panel, which focused on Türkiye's foreign policy based on cooperation and development in the Gulf region and the Middle East, emphasized the importance of Türkiye and the UAE in the region as political and economic powers.
The panel discussed cooperation opportunities in the fields of security, defence industry, and economy, as well as the implications of geostrategic shifts on regional security and the contribution that the two countries can make to regional peace and stability.
In his evaluation of the panel, Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun stated that the panel will be instrumental in bringing the two countries' relations, which have recently gained momentum, to the next level, that many issues have been discussed in depth, and that valuable results have been achieved that will shed light on the future period.
Stating that Türkiye-UAE relations are critical in restoring peace and stability in the region, Director of Communications Altun said:
“The two countries have recently signed ten agreements in the fields of energy, environment, finance, and trade. As a result of these agreements, economic relations are expected to strengthen even further. The UAE sees our country as one that will create new markets for itself through logistics services and supply chains. As a result, it intends to increase its current trading volume.”
Director of Communications Altun stated that the UAE is Türkiye’s top regional trading partner, and that Turkish investments in the UAE are focused on construction, automotive parts, and renewable energy.
Director of Communications Altun said:
“We intend to diversify current partnerships and expand cooperation in energy, health, agriculture, logistics, transportation, industry, infrastructure, finance, tourism, climate change, water and food security, and the economy. I'd like to express that in Türkiye-Gulf relations, our country supports all peaceful diplomatic efforts and expands the network of friends, partners, and regional allies to counter the risks posed by difficult geopolitics. We consider Türkiye and the UAE to be significant players in the region as political and economic powers. As Türkiye, our goal is to maintain a foreign policy based on cooperation and development in the Gulf region and the Middle East."
Three sessions were held during the panel, which was moderated by Dr. Ebtesam al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Centre (EPC), under the titles "Implications of Geostrategic Shifts on Regional Security," "Ways to Build a Constructive Dialogue on Foreign Policy Issues and Defence/Security Cooperation," and "Economic Cooperation Opportunities."