RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman received Turkish President Recep Tayyip 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.
The crown prince and Erdogan reviewed the Saudi-Turkish relations and ways to develop them in all fields. The pair also discussed exerted efforts toward the latest regional and international developments.
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The Turkish president then performed Umrah at Makkah Grand Mosque.
He was received at the mosque by senior officials.
(SPA)
Earlier, the Turkish leader, in his first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2017, arrived in Jeddah and was received by Makkah Governor Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
“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 Turkish statement said.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, Erdogan has also been working to mend his ties with other countries in the region as he faces domestic challenges at home brought on by an economy grappling with a currency crash and soaring inflation.
“My visit reflects our joint will to start a new era of cooperation as the two brotherly countries. 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,” Erdogan 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 Turkey,” Erdogan added.
“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, defense 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.”
