Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to the UAE on 14 February for what he called an “acceleration” in improving relations between Turkey and the UAE.

“Our goal is to accelerate the relationship we have started, and we are taking steps to bring our relationship back to the level it deserves,” Erdogan said.

This will be Erdogan’s first visit to the UAE since 2013, when he was Turkey’s prime minister.

Erdogan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, commonly known as MbZ, are expected to sign 12 trade and investment agreements, including in the defense, media, communications and agriculture sectors.

MbZ paid a rare visit to Turkey in November 2020 and signed several economic agreements, which the Turkish president described as a “new era in relations” between the two countries.

Relations between Ankara and Abu Dhabi have warmed in recent years, but differences between the two countries have been many.

One of the differences was over normalization with Israel. In August 2020, UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations with the mediation of the US.

Turkey criticized the UAE move to normalize relations with Israel.

At the time, Erdogan said that he was considering closing the Turkish embassy in the UAE and reducing the level of diplomatic ties.

Turkey and the UAE also supported different opposition factions in the Libyan civil war, and disagreed on issues, such as gas exploration, in the eastern Mediterranean.