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UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum

26 June 2025

 

The UAE and Turkiye signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) on 3 March 2023, ending a period of complex relations and ushering in a new era of greater trade and development between the two countries. 

The agreement, which came into effect in September 2023, has already exceeded expectations. Non-oil trade between the UAE and Turkiye grew by 11.5% in 2024, reaching $40.5bn. The figure surpassed a major target three years earlier than planned and means Turkiye is now the UAE’s fourth-largest non-oil trading partner, rising from seventh place in 2021.

Defence has been a key driver of business relations between Turkiye and the UAE. Turkish drones are highly sought after, and the UAE is a major customer of the unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by Turkish company Baykar. These orders helped the UAE become the largest export market for Turkiye’s defence industry between 2020 and 2024. 

Other companies are seeking to emulate Baykar’s success and establish long-lasting relations with the UAE. Saha Istanbul is working to achieve this goal. The defence and aviation cluster represents about 80% of Turkiye’s defence manufacturers and holds a biannual defence exhibition in Istanbul to promote their capabilities and attract foreign buyers. 

“We want to cooperate and share our expertise,” says Ali Baran, Saha International board member and general manager of communications technology company Yongatek. “The UAE is not a market or a customer for us. We want to work together.”

Strategic locations

Away from defence, it is easy to see why there is an affinity between the UAE and Turkiye. Istanbul, in particular, has much in common with Dubai. Both are internationally focused cities that are not national capitals and feature major hub airports with similar sales pitches. 

Dubai Airports, which operates Dubai International, says Dubai is within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s population and within eight hours of two-thirds, while Turkiye’s Transport & Infrastructure Ministry says that, from Turkiye, passengers can reach 1.4 billion people in 67 countries within just a four-hour flight.

The strategic locations of the UAE and Turkiye have allowed them to develop as centres for trade and finance. The Istanbul Financial Centre, which opened in 2023, is a modern financial centre that in many ways resembles Dubai International Financial Centre, with its new tower buildings, connecting infrastructure, and a goal to attract global investment and promote economic development. 

The UAE is an active player in Turkiye’s financial sector. In 2019, Dubai-based bank Emirates NBD acquired Turkiye’s Denizbank. In the other direction, Turkish fintech company DG Pays, together with Bahrain’s Arcapita acquired a majority stake for AED385m in the Neopay payments service from Dubai-based bank Mashreq. 

Logistics is another key area of cooperation. Dubai-based DP World is the operator of two ports, Yarimca and Korfez. The two ports combined have five deep water berths and the capacity to handle over 2 million 20-foot equivalent units a year and 1.1 million tonnes of liquid bulk a year. 

The ports, which are located to the south of Istanbul, are key assets for DP World in the growing Turkish market and positions it for further growth in Eastern Europe. 

“Turkiye is a very good market to play in,” says Kris Adams, executive vice-president for Eastern Europe, DP World. “DP World sees a lot of potential to grow. Not just ports, but also warehousing, freight forwarding and growth into other markets.”

Another Dubai brand that has invested in Turkiye is property developer Emaar. Established in 2005, Emaar Turkey has developed the Tuscan Villas project, and also the Land of Legends theme park resort in Anatloya with local hotel operator and developer Rixos. In Istanbul, Emaar Turkey has developed Emaar Square, which includes a high-end shopping mall,
apartment blocks and three high-rise towers.

In the energy sector, Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company purchased a 50% interest in Turkey’s Kalyon Enerji for AED1.8bn ($490m) in 2022. The deal encompasses solar energy initiatives in the Karapınar and Gaziantep regions of Turkiye, as well as a wind energy project located in Ankara.

Turkiye is now the UAE’s fourth-largest non-oil trading partner, rising from seventh place in 2021

Project awards

Construction is another key area of business, with Turkish contractors playing a leading role on some of the UAE’s largest projects. In late 2024, a consortium that includes Turkish companies Limak Holding and Mapa Group was awarded a AED20.5bn contract to build the Dubai Metro’s Blue Line.

Another Turkish contractor that secured a major order in the UAE last year was Dogus, which secured package 1A of Abu Dhabi’s Mid Island Parkway project in a joint venture with Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Contractors Company.

The investments into Turkiye from the UAE, together with the contracts secured by Turkish firms in the UAE, demonstrate the opportunities that the two countries offer one another. Their continued success will depend on their ability to navigate regional challenges together. In the past, this has proven at times to be problematic. With greater levels of shared interests, the expectation is that these testing geopolitical times will remain in the past.

Main image: Turkiye’s Yarimca port, operated by Dubai-based DP World 

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Colin Foreman

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