Turkey and UAE central banks ink cooperation agreement
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) (L), UAE Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail Al Mazroui (L2), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) and CBRT Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu (R2) during an agreement ceremony after their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, Nov. 24, 2021. (EPA Photo)


A cooperation agreement between the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was signed on Wednesday, according to the Turkish lender.

"In the framework of the MoU (memorandum of understanding), the two central banks aspire to carry out activities to foster cooperation in the field of central banking," it said.

The deal came amid reports that the UAE is set to make considerable investments in Turkey.

Turkey and the UAE signed a total of 10 agreements on energy, the environment, finance and trade during a visit by Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) to Ankara on Wednesday.

The UAE has also allocated a $10 billion (TL 119.6 billion) fund for direct investment in Turkey, the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company CEO announced.

Earlier, two sources said the two central banks were holding talks about a potential swap agreement. The CBRT has previously sought swap deals with other countries as a source of hard currency to build reserves and support the Turkish lira.

It has swap agreements worth $6 billion with China, $15 billion with Qatar and $2 billion with South Korea, for a total of $23 billion.

The crown prince arrived in Ankara at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

This is his first visit to Turkey since 2012 and also the first top-level meeting between the UAE and Turkey in recent years.