Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

share extensive cultural, military and economic ties, but relations have substantially deteriorated in recent years.

Economic relations

Turkey is one of the UAE's largest trading partners, with US$9 billion in annual bilateral trade volume - triggering a rise of 800 percent in the last seven years; the year of 2008 saw foreign trade figures reveal Turkey as one of the UAE's top 10 biggest suppliers while over the past five years (2004-2008), UAE's exports to Turkey have increased six-fold. In an attempt to enhance tourism bonds, the UAE launched new

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...

flights to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 2009, serving the city four times a week. Emirati businessmen have been encouraged by multiple real estate agencies to invest in Turkey, as part of Turkey's ongoing privatization efforts. In 2010, both sides pledged on improving commercial relations through common projects and convene officials in the future to determine possible areas of cooperation. There is considerable Turkish presence in the UAE including Turkish construction companies which have put their signature on many developments in the region. In addition, there is a small community of Turks in the United Arab Emirates. According to the Turkish embassy, the number of Turkish companies established in the UAE is over 400, with 75 of those operating in and around

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

. On 24 November 2021, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates signed accords on energy and technology investments after talks between President Tayyip Erdogan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Ankara.

Diplomatic relations

In May 2017, the UAE's Ambassador to the United States,

Yousef Al Otaiba Yousef Al Otaiba ( ar, يوسف العتيبة) is the current United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States and Minister of state. Previously Al Otaiba served as non-resident ambassador to Mexico. His father is Petroleum magnate Mana Al Ot ...

described Turkey under Erdoğan as a "long-term threat" to both the UAE and the United States. In December 2017, the UAE's foreign minister,

Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, عبد الله بن زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان; born 30 April 1972) is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates. He is a son o ...

, shared a tweet that claimed an Ottoman general had robbed

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

during Ottoman rule. Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer * Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and poli ...

responded by describing him as an "impertinent man" who was "spoiled by oil". Emirati diplomat

Anwar Gargash Anwar Mohammed Gargash ( ar, أنور محمد قرقاش; born 28 March 1959, in Dubai) is an Emirati politician who served as the minister of state for foreign affairs between February 2008 and February 2021. Since February 2021, he serves as a ...

then stated, "The sectarian and partisan view is not an acceptable alternative, and the Arab world will not be led by Tehran or Ankara." In March 2018, Gargash stated that relations between the countries "aren’t in their best state" and called on Turkey to "respect Arab sovereignty and deal with its neighbors with wisdom and rationality". In May 2018, Gargash called for Arab countries to unite against rising Turkish and Iranian influence in the Middle East.

Egyptian Crisis (2011–14)

The diplomatic relations between the two countries have soured over differing attitudes to the

Egyptian crisis Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

and its aftermath, with Turkey backing the

Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood ( ar, جماعة الاخوان المسلمين ''jamāʿat /al-ikhwan/el-ekhwan al-muslimīn'', ) is a Sunni Islamist religious, political, and social movement,Eric Trager,The Unbreakable Muslim Brotherhood", ...

and the UAE supporting military rule under President

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt

Turkey accused UAE of supporting the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...

, with a series of leaked emails in June 2017 by Otaiba lending credence to this allegation.

Qatar diplomatic crisis

The UAE has been critical of Turkey's backing of Qatar during the

2017–18 Qatar diplomatic crisis The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident in the Middle East that began on 5 June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ships ...

Syrian Civil War

In August 2017, the UAE accused Turkey of "colonial and competitive behavior" by "trying to reduce the sovereignty of the Syrian state" through its military presence in Syria. The UAE has provided support for the Kurdish-dominated

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

, which fought against Turkish troops in northern Syria. Turkey has accused the UAE of also supporting the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

in its conflict with the Turkish government.

Yemeni Civil War

In May 2018, Turkey expressed concern towards the deployment of Emirati troops in

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

without the Yemeni government being informed beforehand, claiming it presents "a new threat to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Yemen".

Armenian genocide and UAE's cooperation with Armenia

In 2019, the United Arab Emirates' leadership announced it would begin the formal process to recognize the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

Emirate of Abu Dhabi The Emirate of Abu Dhabi (, , or ; ar, إِمَارَةْ أَبُوظَبِي , ) is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is by far the largest emirate, accounting for 87% of the nation's total land area o ...

had become the first emirate to recognize the genocide in April 2019. In February 2020, Armenia's Minister of High-Tech Industry

Hakob Arshakyan Hakob Arshakyan (born 16 April 1985) is an Armenian politician from Civil Contract. He has been Vice President of the Armenian National Assembly Armenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian millet in the Ottoman Empire, es ...

led a delegation to the UMEX and SimTEX 2020 exhibitions in Abu Dhabi.

Mohammed Ahmed Al-Bowardi Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

, the Minister of State for Defense of the UAE met with Arshakyan, and they discussed strengthening cooperation in both countries' military industries and defence sectors. Later, when the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

erupted, the United Arab Emirates-based

Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a flag ...

channel openly broadcast Armenian President

Armen Sargsyan Armen Vardani Sarkissian ( hy, Արմեն Վարդանի Սարգսյան; also written as Sarksyan and Sargsyan) (born 23 June 1952) is an Armenian politician, physicist and computer scientist who served as the 4th president of Armenia from 9 A ...

's speech blasting Turkey and Azerbaijan for the war.

Abraham Accords

Turkey condemned the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and UAE. The Turkish government threatened to suspend diplomatic relations and recall its ambassador from

over the Israel-UAE agreement.

Reconciliation

Turkey and the UAE reconciled in 2022, with Erdogan visiting Abu Dhabi to meet UAE Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Zayed Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, مُحَمّد بِن زَايد آل نَهيَان, Moḥamed bin Zāyed Āl Nahyān; born 11 March 1961), colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirat ...

and signing currency swap and trade agreements between the two countries.https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/05/uae-turkey-reconciliation-continues-trade-agreement

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkey-United Arab Emirates relations

Bilateral relations of the United Arab Emirates