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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's official tour of Gulf countries ended with a momentous meeting on the third day in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The president sat down with his counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Al Watan Palace, where both leaders and their respective delegations engaged in discussions.
During this high-profile summit, a total of 13 agreements were inked between Turkey and the UAE, spanning sectors such as energy, transportation, infrastructure, logistics, e-commerce, finance, healthcare, food, tourism, real estate, construction, defense industry, artificial intelligence, and advanced technologies.
The cumulative value of these deals stands at a staggering 50.7 billion dollars, showcasing the magnitude of the economic cooperation between the two nations, according to a statement from the Presidency's Communication Directorate.
The directorate also confirmed the establishment of a "High-Level Strategic Council," which will be led jointly by Erdoğan and Bin Zayed. This move is seen as a significant step in elevating the bilateral relationship to the level of a strategic partnership, signifying a new era of collaboration and cooperation.
The relations between Turkey and the UAE significantly deteriorated following the failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, with the pro-government media consistently accusing the Gulf country of backing the coup. Erdoğan initiated a rapprochement with the Gulf countries in late 2021.
Criminal extradition agreement
Moreover, amidst the numerous agreements, a key provision was the inclusion of a criminal extradition treaty. Turkey has expressed its intent to seek the extradition of Sedat Peker, a well-known figure in the country's underground world for several decades.
Peker, who moved to the UAE in 2021, leveled serious allegations against former and incumbent government officials, including accusations of political assassinations, corruption, smuggling, and drug trafficking. His YouTube videos where he made those allegations attracted tens of millions of views.
The shocking revelations made by Peker had a profound impact on Turkey, leading to an ongoing investigation and request for his return. However, the UAE authorities had initially allowed Peker to share videos on social media, where he continued his exposé.
Eventually, even those actions were restricted, but the controversial figure found ways to communicate his claims through Twitter, retweeting and liking certain tweets.
Sedat Peker videosA well-known figure in Turkey's underworld since the 1990s, Peker was imprisoned multiple times for organized crime. Following his release in 2014 after serving 10 years in prison, Peker took a pro-government stance, publicly expressing his opinions on current affairs and holding pro-government rallies attended by thousands of people. At the time, he was described as a "businessperson" in the pro-government media and received "businessperson of the year" awards from several different organizations. In late 2019, he reportedly left the country to avoid arrest in an investigation against him for leading an organized crime group. In February 2020, he announced on YouTube that he was in Montenegro. Denying the arrest warrant claims, he said he had gone to the country to complete his university education and would come back to Turkey. Turning against his former allies, Peker began his revelations on YouTube in May 2021, after, according to him, then-Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu failed to keep his promise that he would be able to return to the country in April. Peker has targeted several former and incumbent government officials in his videos, making serious accusations against them, including international drug smuggling, political assassinations, corruption, sexual assault and murder. Along with Soylu, former Minister of Interior Mehmet Ağar, his son and AKP deputy Tolga Ağar, former PM Binali Yıldırım's son Erkam Yıldırım, and former intelligence and military officer Korkut Eken were among Peker's high-profile targets. Peker's videos had over 100 million views on YouTube and dubbed as the "Sedatflix" on social media. The government and relevant people dismissed some of his claims while remaining silent about others. However, he was not able to release a new video after June 20, 2021, because the UAE did not allow him due to security concerns, according to Peker. He continued his allegations on Twitter for a while until that was also restricted. Read more on Sedat Peker videos: Sedat Peker claims to reveal new cocaine route between Colombia-Venezuela-Turkey 'Let the wall come down': Assassinations in '90s come under spotlight again after Peker's claims Peker says his 'bloodbath' threats to academics helped government create a 'climate of fear' Sedat Peker reveals more evidence of his ties to interior minister Mob boss Peker's confessions put military contractor close to Erdoğan under scrunity Investigation into journalist Kutlu Adalı's killing after confessions of mob boss New revelations by Sedat Peker as he postpones video about Erdoğan due to Biden meeting |
(NT/VK)
