Ankara, Jul 20 (IANS): Turkey and the UAE have signed 13 bilateral agreements worth $50.7 billion during the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Abu Dhabi, the President's office said.

The agreements, which cover energy, transportation, infrastructure, logistics, e-commerce, finance, health, food, tourism, real estate, construction, defence industry, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, were signed in the presence of Erdogan and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

In a statement on Wednesday, Erdogan's office said the agreements would "raise the (bilateral) relations between the two countries to the level of strategic partnership".

The statement also said the two countries had agreed to establish a bilateral High-Level Strategic Council to oversee the implementation of the agreements, Xinhua news agency reported.

Erdogan started a three-day Gulf tour on Monday from Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the UAE, with the aim of securing agreements for investment and finance.

Ankara has been seeking to improve its ties with the Gulf countries after years of tensions. Last year, the UAE reached with Turkey a $5-billion swap agreement in local currencies to support the struggling Turkish lira, in a sign of warming diplomatic relations.