ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the United Arab Emirates on Monday, a trip signaling a new thaw in relations long strained by the two nations’ approaches to Islamists in the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011.

Erdogan arrived in Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, after a November visit to Turkey by the country’s de facto leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Sheikh Mohammed, also Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, greeted Erdogan and oversaw the reception of the Turkish President’s honor guard at Al-Watan Palace.

Before leaving Turkey, Erdogan said he hoped his visit would advance the “great potential” of trade between the countries. The United Arab Emirates is an important economic market for Turkey and is home to many Turkish citizens. He also said Sheikh Mohammed’s previous visit represented a “new phase” in relations between the nations.

For the two nations, the visit crowns a rapprochement of several months born of the coronavirus pandemic and a geopolitical necessity.

Relations have been strained largely over Turkey’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood in the region, which the UAE views as a major national security threat that could upend its hereditary rule in the federation of seven emirates. Ankara suspects the United Arab Emirates of supporting a network led by a US-based Turkish Muslim cleric, which Turkey accuses of orchestrating a failed coup against Erdogan in 2016.

The two nations have also backed opposing sides in Libya, while Dubai has become home to a Turkish gangster whose online videos last year depicted alleged corruption in Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party. . He has since stopped publishing them.

Abu Dhabi has revamped a more adversarial approach in its dealings with regional rivals after largely withdrawing its forces from the war in Yemen. After ending its role in a four-nation boycott of Turkey-allied Qatar, the Emirates have sought to restore ties with Ankara amid attacks in the region sparked by the collapse of the EU’s nuclear deal. Iran with world powers.

In Turkey, Erdogan, 67, is facing an economic crisis and a depreciation of the lira, which economists have blamed on his interest rate cuts. Lower interest rates had boosted economic growth across Turkey. Erdogan has also become more authoritarian during his nearly two-decade grip on power in Turkey, a country of some 84 million people.

The United Arab Emirates, which is also home to Dubai, struck a $4.74 billion currency swap deal in January to boost Turkey’s depleted foreign exchange reserves. During Sheikh Mohammed’s landmark visit to Turkey last fall, Emirati officials said the UAE would set aside $10 billion for investments in Turkey.

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Associated Press writer Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul contributed to this report.

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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.