UAE and Turkey hold trade talks

Ankara: The joint UAE-Turkish ministerial committee meeting opened here on Friday with both sides reiterating their commitment to bolstering bilateral relations, particularly in the area of trade and investments.

The UAE side is led by Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Economy while the Turkish side is headed by Kemal Unakitan, Minister of Finance.

In her opening remarks at the meeting, Shaikha Lubna underlined the importance attached by the UAE to its relations with Turkey, noting that both countries were bound by bilateral agreements encompassing areas of double taxation avoidance, and air transport amongst others.

Speaking on the wider relations between members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Turkey, Shaikha Lubna said these relations were set to grow significantly with the ratification of the GCC-Turkish framework trade agreement which was signed in 2005. The third round of the talks on the agreement will be held in Doha on February 25.

High growth

On the performance of the UAE economy, Shaikha Lubna said the country's economy was achieving higher growth rates in various sectors. This strong performance was quite evident in the year 2007 indices, where the gross domestic product (GDP) stood at Dh698 billion. Foreign direct investments (FDI) rose in recent years to $19 billion in 2006, achieving a 10.8 per cent growth as compared to 2005 figures. The surge in FDI is a clear message that investor confidence in the UAE economy is strong.

Investment offers

"In view of these facts, I urge Turkish companies to redouble their investments in the UAE and thereby cement trade ties," said Shaikha Lubna.

She recalled that Turkey had announced during the recent World Economic Forum held in Abu Dhabi that it would invest some $40 billion during the next five years.