The visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to Turkeye’ and his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gained great importance because it restores relations between the two countries.
During their meeting, the Crown Prince and Erdogan agreed to “deepen cooperation between them in all fields, foremost of which are political, economic, military and security,” according to what was stated in the final statement published by Anadolu Agency before the Crown Prince left Turkeye’.
Bin Salman and Erdogan affirmed, “in the strongest way, their common determination to enhance cooperation in bilateral relations between the two countries, including in the political, economic, military, security and cultural fields.”
The agency added that the two sides discussed “the development of productive and investment partnerships in the fields of artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and smart cities”, as well as “their aspiration for cooperation in the fields of energy”, but they did not announce concrete deals.
The statement also stated, “The two sides agreed on activating the agreements signed between them in the fields of defense cooperation in a way that serves the interests of the two countries and contributes to ensuring the security and stability of the region.”
And the agency “SPA” stated that during the meeting with the Crown Prince and Erdogan, “the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and aspects of cooperation and ways to develop them in various fields were reviewed, in addition to the latest developments in regional and international events and the efforts exerted towards them and a number of issues of common interest.”
The visit is the second chapter in the reconciliation between the two countries after years of tension, while the first chapter of reconciliation took place at the end of April, when Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia, where he discussed with the Crown Prince ways to “develop” relations between the two countries.
The saudi Crown Prince had visited Egypt and Jordan before heading to Turkeye’ in the context of enhancing cooperation. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is preparing to receive US President Joe Biden next month, who is on a tour to the region and will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council summit on July 16.
Economic talks
On the sidelines of the visit, Saudi-Turkish economic talks were held in the fields of investment cooperation. The Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with the Turkish Council on Foreign Economic Relations in Ankara, organized a round table meeting for business and investment between the Kingdom and Turkeye’, with the participation of 60 Saudi and Turkish companies and 87 business owners.
The head of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, Ajlan bin Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan, said that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries during the past five years amounted to about 103 billion riyals, noting that there are still greater opportunities to increase economic cooperation in light of the economic components and capabilities and available investment opportunities.
He called on Turkish business owners to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to local and foreign investors in many promising economic sectors.
The Kingdom is among the 8 largest trading partners of Turkeye’. 390 Turkish companies invest in Saudi Arabia with a total capital of 986 million riyals.
Turkish companies are also active in Saudi Arabia in the construction, manufacturing, trade and restaurant sectors.
The number of companies with Saudi capital invested in Turkeye’ is currently 1140 companies.
