DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday met with representatives of UAE and international investment firms in Dubai. 

During the meeting on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit, Erdogan announced Türkiye's ambition to elevate the trade volume between Ankara and Dubai to $50 billion within the next five years.

Highlighting over 40 agreements signed across various sectors including trade, finance, customs, energy, environment, and banking, Erdogan stressed the need to strengthen bilateral partnerships and the creation of new opportunities and facilitations for the private sector.

Recalling the elevation of relations to the level of "Strategic Partnership" through the council mechanism announced during their visit in July, Erdogan announced plans for the inaugural meeting of the council, which he will co-chair with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, to be held in Türkiye in the coming months.

He pointed out the tangible results of these initiatives in investment and trade, with bilateral trade volume surpassing $20 billion last year, marking a 112% increase.

Türkiye has become the largest trading partner of the UAE in the Gulf region, with close to 600 UAE-capital companies operating in various sectors in Türkiye and around a thousand Turkish-capital companies in the UAE, he said.

Erdogan expressed confidence in the potential for further collaboration, saying the mutual goal is to elevate the trade volume to $50 billion within the next five years.

Addressing the recent decision to grant a 90-day visa exemption to UAE citizens, Erdogan underscored Türkiye's readiness to support potential investors from the UAE, highlighting the open doors of institutions such as the Presidency Investment Office, embassies, and consulates to investors.

President Erdogan is participating in the 2024 World Governments Summit, which began on Monday with the participation of over 25 heads of state and government leaders.

The summit, themed Shaping Future Governments, will run until Feb. 14.