DUBAI, March 4 — The oil-rich United Arab Emirates and Turkiye signed a free trade agreement yesterday, the Gulf country’s president said, the latest step in improving ties long strained by regional disputes.

For Turkiye, the pact comes ahead of elections on May 14 as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sticks with contested economic policies that have deterred many foreign investors.

"The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with my friend @RTErdogan strengthens the partnership between the UAE & Türkiye,” Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said on Twitter.

The pact "builds on our longstanding ties to deliver further growth, opportunity & stability for our countries & our people,” he said.

Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus attended the signing in Abu Dhabi during a video summit between Sheikh Mohammed and Erdogan.

The pact aims to eliminate or reduce customs duties on 82 per cent of goods and products, accounting for more than 93 per cent of non-oil trade, the official WAM news agency reported.

Non-oil exchanges between the two countries reached US$19 billion (RM85 billion) last year, up 40 per cent on the previous year and 112 per cent from 2020, WAM said.

"It is expected that the agreement will contribute to increasing non-oil bilateral trade to US$40 billion annually within five years, while also creating 25,000 new job opportunities by 2031,” the news agency added.

Turkiye and the UAE have backed opposing sides in regional conflicts and have sparred over issues including gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

But since 2021 Erdogan has sought to improve ties with regional rivals in the face of increasing diplomatic isolation that has caused foreign investment to dry up, particularly from the West.

Early last year, Erdogan made his first visit to the UAE in nearly a decade and called on business leaders to invest in his country.

The Turkish leader’s UAE trip followed Sheikh Mohammed’s rare visit to Ankara in November 2021. The UAE then announced a US$10 billion fund for investments in Turkiye.

The Emirates sees Turkiye as a route to new markets.

After the February 6 earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria, killing tens of thousands and causing an estimated US$34 billion in damage, the UAE spearheaded regional relief efforts. — AFP