4 May 2022

The Gulf Countries and Turkey: (Re-)Drawing the Map of Alliances in the Middle East

Yoel Guzansky Gallia Lindenstrauss

In November 2021, Ankara hosted United Arab Emirates de facto ruler Mohammed bin Zayed, and in February 2022 Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a reciprocal visit to the UAE. The rapprochement between Abu Dhabi and Ankara represents an especially sharp turn because Erdogan had accused the United Arab Emirates of being behind the attempted coup against him in 2016. During his visit to Turkey, bin Zayed made a commitment to invest $10 billion in Turkey, and in January 2022 the countries agreed on a $5 billion swap. In Erdogan's reciprocal visit to Abu Dhabi, a series of agreements between the countries were signed, including on preparations for coping with mass disasters, climate change, and initial defense industry cooperation.

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