Turkey, UAE ink deal to build foreign exchange reserves

Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to a currency swap deal equivalent to $4.74 billion to boost Turkey’s depleted foreign exchange reserves, the Turkish central bank announces.

Under the agreement reached between their central banks, Turkey and the UAE agreed to swap 65 billion Turkish lira and 18 billion UAE dirham for a period of three years, with the possibility of extending the deal further.

The agreement aims to help Turkey’s reserves following a series of interventions by the central bank, which sold foreign currency to prop up the lira amid a currency crisis.

It comes as Turkey and the UAE have taken steps to improve relations following years of tensions. Turkey and the UAE found themselves on opposing sides of regional conflicts, including a proxy conflict in Libya and disputes in the Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean.