Erdogan visits UAE to reset ties with Arab world

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan undertook a tow-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this week in a bid to repair ties with the Arab world and in the back drop of Iran providing a common ground of concern.

Turkey has found itself increasingly isolated across Middle East, largely due to Ankara’s support to the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group, whose activities caused unease among many countries in the region.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt regard the Muslim Brotherhood as dangerous and have tightened their crackdown on the organization, which once had immense powers of mass mobilization and temporarily strengthened its political voice in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011.

Turkey and Qatar, however, support the Brotherhood and aim to use it as leverage to deflect criticism from domestic and foreign Islamist groups and to secure regional political dominance.

For years, relations between the energy-rich UAE and Turkey have been strained affected by regional tensions, including the conflict in Libya, where each backed the opposing side and also sparred on other issues such as gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey last year accused the UAE of bringing chaos to the Middle East through its intervention in Libya and Yemen, while the UAE and several other countries criticized Turkey’s military actions in Libya. Turkish support last year helped drive back UAE-supported forces attempting to seize the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Ties between Turkey and the UAE were particularly tense after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut all links with Qatar, a close ally of Ankara in 2017 following a dispute. Relations were restored with Qatar in January last year.

Relations hit an all time low when Erdogan threatened to suspend diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi after the UAE and Israel decided to establish diplomatic relations in August 2020.

Tension between Turkey and the UAE, however, eased after UAE’s de factor ruler and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed travelled to Ankara last November on the first high-level visit since 2012.

Erdogan’s visit, the first since 2013 by the Turkish President, opens a new, positive page in bilateral relations and also seen as part of a wider regional reset.

Following Prince Mohammed visit, the UAE announced a USD 10 billion fund for investments in Turkey where economy has been reeling and inflation surged to a near 20-year high in January.

Turkey is also engaged in an effort to mend frayed ties with other regional powers, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

All these countries along with western nations have common interest—Iran not to be powerful and influential. Turkey is increasingly in competition with Iran, from the Caucasus to Syria.

Turkish pro-government media earlier this month reported that several alleged Iranian agents have been arrested in the country in a joint-Turkish-Israeli intelligence service operation.

The arrests came after Iran recently cut off natural gas supplies to Turkey for more than a week, causing much of the country’s manufacturing sector to shut down for several days.

Erdogan’s visit comes as the UAE faces a growing threat from Yemen’s Houthi rebels who have in recent weeks launched a series of drone and missile attacks on the Gulf country prompting increased defence cooperation with the United States and France.

In an op-ed published by Dubai-based Khaleej Times ahead of his visit, Erdogan wrote that Turkley wanted to advance cooperation with the UAE on several foronts, including climate change, water and food security.

“This cooperation will have positive reflections not only in bilateral relations but also at the regional level,” he wrote.

During the visit the two countries signed over a dozen bilateral agreements relating to cooperation the fields of trade, industry, transport and health. The two sides also signed a letter of intent on defence coopeation. – INDIA NEWS STREAM