President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his gratitude to world leaders, including Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) and others who extended get well soon wishes after the president tested positive for COVID-19.

In a message he posted on Twitter on Wednesday, the president said he thanks Al Nahyan for his message.

"I extend my thanks to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on behalf of myself and Ms. Erdoğan," the president said.

The president is expected to pay a return visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE) this month.

In November, he hosted MBZ as Turkey and the UAE sought to repair their relations and increase economic cooperation. The visit by the crown prince, seen as the de facto leader and the force behind the UAE’s foreign policy posture, was his first official trip to Turkey since 2012, and the highest-level visit by an Emirati official since relations hit a low as the countries have battled for regional influence and backed opposing sides in conflicts.

Erdoğan also thanked Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto head of state of Sudan, Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah.

He also thanked the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani and held a phone call with the Speaker of the Iraqi House of Representatives Mohamed al-Halbousi.

"I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Nechirvan Barzani for his get well wishes over the phone and social media," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan said on Sunday that both he and first lady Emine Erdoğan are experiencing no negative effects after testing positive for COVID-19, adding that they are continuing their work in isolation at their Istanbul home. They are expected to be tested after seven days.