DUBAI — Several Gulf Arab states have a large stake in Turkey’s presidential elections, and stand to have their years-long investments scrutinized if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan loses his 20-year power streak.
Saudi Arabia injected $5 billion in Turkey’s central bank in March to help strengthen the country’s currency after the two massive earthquakes that devastated its people and economy the month before.
That same month, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an agreement with Erdogan to increase bilateral trade to $40 billion by 2028. In June 2022, the UAE’s smallest of three main sovereign wealth funds — investment firm ADQ — bought Turkish pharmaceutical company Birgi Mefar Group.
Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, envisions that if Turkey’s government changes, so will Gulf influence in the country.
