The UAE and Turkiye on 3 March signed a trade agreement that could more than double bilateral trade volumes to between $40 billion and $45 billion within the next five years, according to Emirati projections.

The agreement is focused on sectors including agritech, clean energy, logistics, and construction, among others.

“Thanks to the agreement, the barriers to trade in goods and services will be removed, and the activities of our investors and entrepreneurs will be facilitated,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said of the deal.

“In this way, we will build an economic bridge extending from Europe to North Africa, from Russia to the Gulf, on solid foundations,” he added.

The deal was finalized in Abu Dhabi on Friday during a visit by Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus. It includes slashing 82 percent off tariff fees between the two countries, according to Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

“Turkiye has huge potential for growth. They will be one of the biggest emerging economies dominating global markets 20 years from now,” Al-Zeyoudi said.

Turkiye is now the UAE’s sixth largest trading partner for non-oil trade, as bilateral trade between the two nations hit $18.9 billion last year, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.

On top of a $4.9 billion currency swap agreement made with Ankara last year, the UAE pledged billions of dollars worth of investments in Turkiye through government-affiliated entities.

The trade announcement builds on a defense-industry cooperation agreement and a series of economic accords signed in 2022 after Erdogan visited the Gulf nation.

His visit marked a significant step in healing relations between two traditional foes, which have clashed over several issues following the Arab Spring and the Libyan war in 2011.