Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi‘s heir apparent and de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be in Ankara today for official talks with President Erdogan to discuss billions of dollars in economic openings.

Athens is concerned about the sudden re-engagement of the UAE with Turkey, especially at a time when Greek relations with the UAE are considered strategic.

Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, whose relations have until recently been fractured and mutually accused of “hostile” behaviour on the international scene and many regional issues, have improved with normalisation efforts that have gained momentum in recent months.

The Sheikh‘s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara will be marked by business talks as the two countries try to turn the page after a decade of frozen relations.

Normalisation efforts between Turkey and the UAE have been an ongoing process since late 2020. According to many observers, the starting point of this process is the victory of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the US elections and Washington‘s shift towards an active foreign policy again.

Many countries, such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt, preferred to make significant changes in their foreign policy after Biden‘s rise to power, reports the Balkan Periscope.

In brief statements by Ankara and Abu Dhabi, it was announced that “bilateral relations will be reviewed in all their dimensions and steps that can be taken to develop cooperation“ at the Erdogan-MBZ meeting. It was also noted that the parties will exchange views on current regional and international issues.

This first visit is historic as it is the first from the United Arab Emirates to Turkey at the highest level in years.

The last official visits between Turkey and the UAE took place during the reciprocal visits of Foreign Ministers Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan in 2016.