Photo: AMNA
Greece and the United Arab Emirates have formally agreed to build a strategic alliance that will focus on economic issues as well as foreign policy and defence. The agreement is seen by many as a manoeuvre against the increasingly aggressive actions of Turkey within the Middle-East and the Mediterranean.
The historic alliance was agreed after a trip by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the UAE, which lies on the Arabian-peninsula.
Mitsotakis said in a statement:
"My visit to the United Arab Emirates today and the signing of the relevant agreements constitute a strategic upgrade of Greece-United Arab Emirates relations. There is now a clear roadmap for how relations between the two countries can become even closer. Both countries are facing the challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean through the same perspective. They remain committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for international law."
In a joint statement with Mitsotakis, the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke out against recent Turkish actions. These actions have included the invasion of Northern Syria, the support of jihadis in Artsakh, the support of violent groups in Libya, and the exploration of Greek and Cypriot maritime territory for the purpose of obtaining hydrocarbons.
"Greece and the UAE underline their steadfast commitment to international law and the UN Charter as the foundation for peace, security, good neighbourhood relations and the peaceful resolution of problems for all the countries of the region. UAE and Greece expressed their concern over the export of terrorism and extremism and reaffirm their common engagement to tackle terrorism and extremism in all their forms, while calling on the international community to adopt a strict stance toward this aggression."
Earlier this year, many Arab countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt and the UAE, imposed an official boycott of Turkish products as a way of standing up against the Turkish state's aggression in the Middle-East.
Political analyst Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri said of the boycott:
"Turkish political mess-ups and interference in countries of the Middle East is the real reason behind this popular boycott of Turkish products".
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