Saudi Arabia and Turkey for a new era of partnership

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and his Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, received in Jeddah yesterday evening (Thursday) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia. King Salman welcomed his guest Erdogan, while the Turkish president expressed his happiness at visiting Saudi Arabia and meeting the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques hosted an official dinner in honor of the Turkish President. After the meeting, Erdogan said, “Our visit will open the doors to a new era of partnership with the friendly and brotherly Saudi Arabia.”

In addition, Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a session of talks with Erdogan, during which they discussed bilateral relations and ways to develop them, in addition to regional and international developments.

In a press conference before his departure to the kingdom, Erdogan said that his visit is an indication of the common will to start a new phase in relations. Erdogan indicated that increasing cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the sectors of health, energy, food, security, defense and finance is “beneficial to both sides.” “We will work to start a new era of political, military, economic and cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia,” he added. He explained that the leaderships of the two countries will review, during the visit, the Turkish-Saudi relations in their various dimensions, as well as regional and international issues. He stressed that his country attaches great importance to Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states.

Turkey is counting on the visit to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states and open wider horizons for cooperation. The Turkish delegation accompanying Erdogan includes the ministers of justice, trade, defense, culture and tourism, treasury and finance, as well as the head of intelligence, and lawmakers from the Justice and Development Party (the ruling) and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party.

Turkey seeks to raise the volume of trade exchange with Saudi Arabia, increase Saudi investments in Turkey, and establish partnerships with investments and extended contracts. Ankara believes that there was a positive atmosphere achieved before Erdogan’s visit that paved the way once again for work and coordination regarding trade, investment and regional issues.

On the eve of Erdogan’s visit, the Saudi Finance Ministers, Muhammad Al-Jadaan and the Turkish Noureddin Nebti held, the day before yesterday, a virtual meeting, during which they discussed ways to improve economic cooperation, and also exchanged views regarding trade and investment fields.

It is noteworthy that Saudi imports from Turkey rose by 2.8 percent during the first quarter of this year, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia, to reach $19 million, compared to $18.5 million in the same period in 2021, when imports from Turkey declined by 62.3 percent. , to $886 million, compared to $2.35 billion in 2020.
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