Economy diversification
Middle East expansion
Investment into Turkey
The Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Turkey have begun talks towards a free trade agreement, the UAE’s state-run Wam news agency reported.
Ankara has already signed free trade agreements with the UAE and Qatar, Wam said, citing Turkish trade minister Ömer Bolat.
The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are all members of the 44-year-old economic and political GCC bloc. Saudi Arabia is the biggest by gross domestic product and the world’s second-largest oil producer.
Wam did not give any further details about the negotiations.
To date, 2,400 projects valued at $126 billion have been undertaken by Turkish contracting companies in the Middle East, Bolat said.
Gulf Arab countries are investing billions in diversifying their economies away from oil to develop tourism, transport, technology and other industries.
In January, Kuwait-based Kamco Investment said the value of Saudi government awarded contracts surged by nearly 25 percent year on year to $147 billion in 2024.
According to Bolat, the value of trade between Turkey and the Middle East, including the Gulf nations, has increased sevenfold in the 21 years to 2024 from $8.9 billion in 2003 to $61.7 billion. About half of that is with the GCC.
In turn, Gulf Arab governments and countries have invested some $14 billion in Turkey.
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