Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Alshihhi, undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy, leads the UAE delegation to the two-day 3rd Turkish-Arab Economic Forum which started today (Thursday) and will run until tomorrow, June 13, 2008, at the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel in Istanbul. Khalid Ghanim Al-Ghaith, UAE Ministry of Economy Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs and International Cooperation, has accompanied Alshihhi to the event. Alshihhi emphasized the importance of participating in this forum as it is highly beneficial in terms of the ideas and information that it will generate and its resulting initiatives which will expand the partnership between the UAE and Turkey and thus ensure their sustainable growth. “The UAE maintains strong economic and business relations with Turkey; we have in fact forged several bilateral agreements ranging from double taxation avoidance to air transport,” he said. “Both our countries stand to mutually benefit from our rapidly growing economic and business environments; while Turkey is aggressively improving its investment opportunities and enhancing inter-Arab trade, the UAE has emerged as the region's most dynamic economy and one of the world's top 30 trading countries according to the World Trade Organization,” he added. Alshihhi further said that both countries have institutionalized their cooperation through regular meetings of the Joint Economic Commission and the UAE-Turkey Business Council, the seventh of which was held last February 2008 in Ankara, Turkey. Legal foundations of their bilateral economic relations include the 1984 Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement; the 1993 Agreement on the Prevention of Double Taxation; and the 2005 Agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments. Trade volume between the UAE and Turkey was at $3.7 billion in 2007, with Turkey's main exports to the UAE comprising iron and steel; textiles; clothing; and accessories. UAE, on the other hand, traded mainly gold and silver products. The UAE's favorable investment environment has so far attracted 21 Turkish companies, 27 trade agencies, and 244 trade marks; Turkey has further committed $40 billion in investments to the UAE within the next five years during the recent World Economic Forum held in Abu Dhabi last January 2008. Alshihhi will join a panel session exploring Turkey's economic developments and investment opportunities. The Turkish-Arab Economic Forum will feature seven panel sessions covering a summit for ministers; banking and financial markets; economic developments and investment environment; real estate and tourism; Turkey's geopolitical role; Turkey's energy requirements; and economic and business prospects in Arab countries. Meanwhile, in Zagreb, Croatia and Turkey signed an agreement on Wednesday on economic cooperation aimed at encouraging mutual investment in the two countries. “Our economic and commercial relations are lagging behind” our political ties, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told journalists in the Croatian capital Zagreb after the deal was signed. __
