Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates and Turkey signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on Friday.
During a virtual summit, President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, witnessed the signing.
“The signing of the CEPA reflects the significant development witnessed in bilateral relations in recent years,” commented President Sheikh Mohammad. The total non-oil trade between the UAE and Turkey reached $19 billion in 2022, an increase of 40 per cent compared to 2021 and 112 per cent compared to 2020. This makes Turkey the fastest-growing among the UAE’s top 10 trading partners.
“Not only does this agreement aim to stimulate trade, investment and economic growth, but it also establishes a genuine development partnership, building common interests and consolidating ever-stronger strategic relations between our two countries,” Sheikh Mohammad added.
UAE-Turkey CEPA
The UAE-Turkey CEPA aims to achieve mutual benefits for both countries and stimulate long-term, sustainable, and comprehensive economic growth by eliminating or reducing customs duties on 82 per cent of goods and products, representing more than 93 per cent of non-oil trade. Additionally, the agreement improves market access to Turkey for exporters from the UAE, including major sectors such as construction, metals and their products, polymers, and other manufactured products.
“Our efforts which are empowered from our shared history, culture, and traditional values are not only contributing to our bilateral economic ties but also significantly contributing to the prosperity, welfare and stability of our region as well as the globe,” said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “There is no doubt that the CEPA signed today, with the strong tools it contains, such as liberalization of bilateral goods, services and trade, with a special emphasis on SMEs; easing the work of investors; and bringing top notch rules for intellectual property rights, among others, will be a trigger for boosting trade and investments,”
It is expected that the agreement will contribute to increasing non-oil bilateral trade to $40 billion annually within five years, while also creating 25,000 new job opportunities by 2031. In addition, the agreement is expected to increase UAE exports to Turkey by 21.7 per cent. Non-oil exports to Turkey amounted to $5.6 billion in 2022, an increase of 109 per cent compared to 2021, while the value of re-export operations from the UAE to the world grew by 87 per cent to reach $2.3 billion in 2022.
During the first visit, the UAE announced the establishment of a $10 billion investment fund in Turkey, focusing on the logistics, energy, health, and food sectors.
During the second visit, 13 cooperation agreements were signed in several areas of mutual interest. Earlier this year the Turkish President also participated in the 10th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where he delivered a recorded speech reaffirming the depth of the relations between the UAE and Turkey.
