Once adversaries, Turkey and UAE now 'brotherhood of money'

Duvar English

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is hoping that reconciliation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will provide a lifeline to the economy, wrote renowned journalist Murat Yetkin in his latest piece.

Yetkin wrote that Erdoğan has waged the “Economic War of Independence” with the alliance of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, whom he counted among his main enemies until very recently.

Yetkin wrote that although Erdoğan and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed disagree on several issues, including Turkey's support for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood which the UAE considers as a terrorist organization, those conflicts were being "replaced by the brotherhood of money."

"Due to the rapid depreciation of the Turkish Lira in the last two months, Turkey’s economic assets, which are under the control of the recently founded Wealth Fund (Varlık Fonu), are 30 percent cheaper and it has serious external resource problems. The conflict over Muslim Brotherhood was being replaced by the brotherhood of money," Yetkin wrote. 

“At the moment, Erdoğan’s only strategy is to maintain power in the 2023 elections. For this purpose, he needs to recover the economy and put money in the pockets of the voters. The idea of selling foreign currency through the Central Bank in order to keep the exchange rate low ended in a fiasco. Now he is trying to leave the Turkish Lira in free fall and obtain foreign exchange from exports." 

“At this stage, it seems that the UAE is spotted on the radar screen of the Presidential Campus in Beştepe, Ankara.”

The United Arab Emirates announced on Nov. 24 that it is establishing a $10 billion fund to support investments in Turkey. The fund will reportedly focus on strategic investments, including in the energy and health sectors.

Yetkin's piece in full can be read here.