President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed bilateral relations and regional developments during a phone call, the Turkish Presidency announced Thursday in a statement.
Erdoğan conveyed his gratitude to the Arab nation for the solidarity and support they showed since the Feb. 6 earthquakes that left more than 50,000 dead in 11 Turkish provinces.
The leaders also exchanged greetings on the occasion of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
MBZ was among the first leaders to extend condolences to Türkiye in a phone call with Erdoğan hours after the disaster struck on Feb. 6 and instructed his country's army, ministries, a foundation and a charity to deliver humanitarian aid to the country.
A day after, he announced the UAE would deliver a cash aid of $50 million to Türkiye. The UAE Red Crescent also launched a two-week aid campaign to collect donations for Türkiye and Syria, while the flagship carrier Emirates launched an air bridge between Dubai and Istanbul for relief delivery operations.
A week later, Foreign Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan personally made the trip to the earthquake-stricken provinces and reiterated the UAE’s assistance and support.
The UAE delivered tents capable of housing 33,000 people to Türkiye after the disaster. As the operator of the world’s second-biggest cargo jets, it also allocated large military and civilian cargo planes to help with the delivery of international relief, carrying some 7,176 tons of humanitarian aid materials via 223 jets to the earthquake’s victims as of March 16.
As crown prince, MBZ paid a visit to Ankara in late 2021, his first since 2012 and the highest level by an Emirate official after relations hit a low, as the two countries sought to repair ties and increase economic cooperation.
Previously, ties had been strained as Türkiye and the oil-rich Emirates backed opposing sides in the Libyan civil war and sparred over issues such as gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Relations were particularly tense after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain in 2017 cut all links with Qatar, a close ally of Türkiye. Those relations were restored in January 2021.
Both leaders have in the past stressed their countries could contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity.
Türkiye is also working to mend frayed ties with other regional powers, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
