ANKARA, June 22 Reuters Turkey expects the United Arab Emirates UAE and Saudi Arabia to invest in its energy and defence sectors after negotiations in Abu Dhabi led by its top economy officials, two sources with knowledge of the talks said on Thursday.

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek travelled to the UAE on Wednesday ahead of a possible visit by President Tayyip Erdogan.

After his reelection last month, Erdogan named the pair to his cabinet in a signal he is backtracking on a yearslong unorthodox economic policy that sent inflation soaring and the lira currency tumbling, and depleted foreign exchange reserves.

Since 2021, when Ankara launched a diplomatic effort to repair ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, investments and funding from the Gulf have helped relieve pressure on Turkey39;s strained economy and hard currency buffer.

With elections over, Gulf officials are discussing direct investments in the energy and defence sectors, the sources said. The status, size and timeframe of any deals were uncertain.

Money inflow is expected in the coming period, especially from the Gulf region. They39;ve made some highlevel contacts in Turkey. There will be some direct investments from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, one said.

Turkey39;s finance ministry and Erdogan39;s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Ankara had said that Yilmaz and Simsek would discuss with UAE counterparts economic cooperation…