Turkish and Emirati foreign ministers on Wednesday discussed the upcoming visit between the two countries in a phone call amid the reconciliation period between the long-time regional rivals.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke by phone with his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan during which they discussed bilateral relations.
Al Nahyan also exchanged messages of congratulations with Çavuşoğlu over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
The two men also discussed the upcoming visit schedule between the two countries.
Ties between Turkey and the UAE are experiencing a major thaw after years of tense relations.
Çavuşoğlu visited the UAE on March 21 this year to address the 16th UAE Ambassadors and Representatives of Diplomatic Missions Forum as a guest of honor.
In November, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), as Turkey and the UAE seek 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 paid a return visit to the UAE in February, signing cooperation agreements in various fields, saying that increased cooperation between the two countries would benefit the region. After completing his visit, Erdoğan told reporters that the visit to the UAE, which came after nearly a decade, constituted a strong momentum and significant step to further bilateral ties. Erdoğan described his talks with MBZ as “highly fruitful” and said the two leaders discussed how to further enhance bilateral relations.
“We also exchanged views on regional and international issues. At this point, we underlined the support we give to the United Arab Emirates’ security and stability. We emphasized that we do not see the security of the Gulf region as separate from ours,” he said.
Turkey and the UAE had seen their ties affected by regional tensions, including the conflict in Libya, where they have backed opposing sides in recent years.
Converging interests have driven regional power shifts in the Middle East, mainly led by regional powerhouses Turkey and the UAE. The diplomatic maneuvering signals a growing realization across the region that the United States’ interest is moving elsewhere and that now is the time for negotiations that were unthinkable just a year ago.
Turkey is also engaged in an effort to mend its frayed ties with regional powers, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Erdoğan had reiterated that Turkey hopes to maximize its cooperation with Egypt and Gulf nations "on a win-win basis," at a time when Ankara intensified diplomacy to mend its fraught ties with Cairo and some Gulf Arab nations after years of tensions.
