ISTANBUL: Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ and Turkey are in talks to build a railway over Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait as part of a planned trade corridor linking Europe to the Middle East and Asia, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter.
The railway would cross the Yavuz Sultan Selim suspension bridge, one of the world’s longest and widest structures constructed at a cost of $3 billion under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This bridge serves the purpose of linking the European and Asian segments of the city.
This potential collaboration adds to a series of prospective agreements between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with Abu Dhabi being the capital. In a bid to support Turkey’s economy, the UAE pledged $51 billion in July, marking a significant gesture following the resolution of longstanding animosities between Ankara and the Arab Gulf states.
The UAE government, as expressed in a statement to Bloomberg, envisions a doubling of bilateral trade with Turkey to $40 billion by 2030. They highlight key investment sectors such as energy, logistics, tourism, and agriculture.
UAE, Turkey Discuss Rail Link in Race For Europe-Asia Trade Routes.
🔸ADQ, Turkey in talks to build railway over Istanbul bridge.
🔸Rival route backed by US and India driving infrastructure push. pic.twitter.com/wmoOXyZGPc— Barış Yazıcı (@bariscanyazici) October 5, 2023
While the Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Ministry refrained from providing comments, ADQ, boasting approximately $160 billion in assets, also opted for silence on the matter.
Turkey, strategically positioned between Europe and Asia and controlling access to the Black Sea, aspires to play a pivotal role in a trade corridor connecting London to Beijing. Anonymous sources revealed that the country aims to integrate Gulf nations into its extensive railway and highway network. The envisaged railway project could potentially be followed by additional infrastructure endeavours to bolster this ambitious plan in the future.
President Erdogan has intensified efforts to secure support from Gulf states for a $17 billion trade route originating from Iraq’s port of Basra. This move comes in response to a competing route endorsed by the US and India, with backing from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. This development emerged as a countermeasure to China’s expanding influence in the energy-rich region.
Once part of the ancient Silk Road, Turkey is advocating for the creation of a transport corridor to Azerbaijan, potentially crossing southern Armenia or Iran to develop a new trade route to Asia.
