King Salman and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman received President Erdogan in Jeddah, reports Asian Lite News
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to discuss the relations and cooperation between their countries.
King Salman and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman received President Erdogan in Jeddah, the Saudi Press Agency reported on early Friday.
The king welcomed Erdogan and his delegation, while the Turkish president expressed happiness to visit the Kingdom and meet the king and crown prince.
An official reception and a dinner banquet were held for the Turkish president. Senior officials from both sides attended the reception.
According to SPA, the crown prince and Erdogan reviewed the Saudi-Turkish relations and ways to develop them in various fields. They also discussed the latest regional and international developments and the exerted efforts towards them.
Later, the Turkish president performed Umrah at Makkah Grand Mosque, where was received by senior officials.
“All aspects of the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be reviewed, and steps aimed at enhancing the cooperation between the two countries will be discussed at the talks to be held as part of the visit. Besides bilateral relations, views on regional and international matters will be exchanged,” a statement from Turkish Presidency said.
Noting that his visit to Saudi Arabia reflects the two countries’ joint will to start a new era of cooperation as the two brotherly countries that enjoy historical, cultural and humanitarian ties, President Erdogan stated: “Around 40 thousand citizens of ours live in Saudi Arabia and contribute to the Saudi Arabian economy through the businesses they have established. We are paying this visit upon the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. We will be making efforts in order to start a new era of enhanced relations between our two countries in all respects including politics, military, economy and culture.”
He said Saudi Arabia holds a special place for Turkey in terms of trade and investments as well as the large-scale projects implemented by our contractors.
“The total value of the projects our contractors have undertaken in Saudi Arabia reaches $24 billion. The complementary nature of our economies is the primary factor that attracts Saudi investors to the dynamic environment in Türkiye,” he added.
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All aspects of the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia would be discussed during the visit, President Erdogan stressed.
“I see and believe that it is in our joint interest to boost our cooperation with Saudi Arabia in such areas as healthcare, energy, food security, agricultural technologies, defence industry and finance. It seems that we have significant potential particularly in renewable and green energy. We will hopefully discuss and thoroughly evaluate these issues,” he said.
He said regional and international developments will also be on the agenda.
“We state it at every opportunity that to us, the stability and security of our brothers and sisters in the Gulf is just as important as our own security and stability. In the current era of increasingly more sophisticated threats, dialogue and cooperation is imperative for the security and stability of our entire region.”
