Turkey, UAE continue to mend ties with space agreement

Turkey and the United Arab Emirates plan to work together on space.

The two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding tomorrow to share expertise on space research and technology. They will also carry out joint studies on suborbital flights, launches, rockets and satellite systems, Turkey’s official Anadolu Agency reported today. 

The signing will take place at an investment workshop in Istanbul sponsored by Turkey’s Industry and Technology Ministry. Officials and companies from both countries will also be in attendance, according to Anadolu. 

Why it matters: Turkey-UAE relations were strained for years over disagreements on the Muslim Brotherhood, the Libyan civil war and a variety of other issues. However, the two countries have pursued rapprochement recently. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Emirates in February on a mission to secure investment in Turkey’s struggling economy. 

Economic cooperation is playing a large role in Turkish-Emirati reconciliation. In March, a delegation of Turkish businesspeople met with Emirati counterparts in Abu Dhabi to discuss trade and investment opportunities. In May, the countries’ federal export credit companies signed a trade agreement. In June, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund acquired a major Turkish pharmaceutical firm. 

Know more: Both countries have strong space exploration programs. The UAE launched the Hope Probe to Mars in 2020. The Emirates is the first country in the Arab world to conduct a Mars mission. 

Turkey has launched several satellites into space and most recently worked with SpaceX on a telecommunications satellite.