Davos 2024: Gold, precious minerals to drive UAE-Turkey trade in 2024, says minister

DAVOS, Switzerland — Trade between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to continue on its upward trajectory in 2024 with gold and precious minerals at the forefront, as the two countries implement a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) after a diplomatic thaw, according to the Gulf country’s trade minister.

Emirati minister of state for foreign trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, told Al-Monitor at the World Economic Forum in Davos that non-oil trade between the two countries in particular had been growing.

“We had good growth of around 87% in 2022. During the first half of 2023, we had excellent growth as well; we surpassed the numbers of the previous year and we're just making the final touches on the numbers for the full year. I'm sure they are exceeding expectations,” he said.

“I think what is going to be the gamechanger in 2024 will be Turkey's implementation of our CEPA agreement, the free trade agreement, which came into force last September. So this year we're going to see a significant impact," the minister noted.