Saudi Crown Prince, Turkey’s Erdogan hold official talks, multiple MOUs signed
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held official talks on Monday in Jeddah where they oversaw the signing of several bilateral agreements covering different sectors.
The two sides signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for cooperation in the fields of energy; defense industries, research and development; direct investment and media, in addition to Saudi Arabia signing two contracts with Turkish defense company Baykar, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman said in a tweet early Tuesday that “two acquisition contracts were signed between the Ministry of Defense and Baykar, under which the ministry will acquire drones, with the aim of enhancing the readiness of the Kingdom’s armed forces and bolstering its defense and manufacturing capabilities.”
During the official talks, the Saudi and Turkish leaders reviewed the bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, looked into means of cooperation between them and opportunities for developing relations in various fields, SPA said.
The Crown Prince and Erdogan also tackled regional and international developments and efforts exerted towards these matters.
Before the talks between both leaders began, the Crown Prince welcomed Erdogan with an official reception ceremony.
Erdogan arrived in Jeddah after his reelection in the Turkish presidential elections in May. The Turkish president’s visit to the Kingdom is the first stop in a Gulf tour that includes Qatar and the UAE between July 17-19.
As part of the visit, a Saudi-Turkish Business Forum was held in the presence of Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih and Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Bolat and that included the participation of representatives from Saudi and Turkish companies and the private sector.
The forum discussed means of cooperation and ways of expanding investment opportunities between both countries. It resulted in the announcement of nine MOUs that covered the energy, real estate, construction, education, digital technology, health and media sectors, according to SPA.
Al-Falih, SPA added, said that the Saudi-Turkish economic partnership has a great potential while underscoring that the private-sector partnerships and business ties between both countries are considered key drivers for strengthening the bilateral economic relations.
For his part, Bolat said that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are rising economic powers with significant competitive advantages. He relayed his country’s aspiration to increase the volume of trade between the two countries in the coming years.
