Erdogan's visit bolsters Saudi Arabia-Turkey relations
Shafaq News / joint statement following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Saudi Arabia where he met top officials underlined closer ties between the two countries.
The statement said Erdoğan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) reviewed the historical relations between the two brotherly countries and ways of developing them in all fields. They also exchanged views on the overall current regional and international situation, the statement on Wednesday said
The Crown Prince congratulated Erdoğan for his victory in the May 28 runoff elections while Erdoğan appreciated the efforts made by Saudi Arabia in serving the Two Holy Mosques and the visitors of pilgrims and Umrah performers and praised the high level of coordination between the two countries to ensure the comfort of pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors from Türkiye.
The Turkish side also expressed its appreciation for the support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Türkiye after the catastrophic twin earthquakes that occurred on Feb. 6, 2023.
The two sides stressed the importance of completing the procedures for activating the Saudi-Turkish Coordination Council, and working to develop joint projects and initiatives and implement them within the framework of the council.
In the economic, trade and investment fields, the two sides reviewed the most important challenges of the global economy and the role of the Kingdom and Türkiye in facing these challenges, and stressed the importance of increasing the pace of cooperation in the commercial and investment sectors, and their keenness to support opportunities for economic integration in a number of targeted sectors, most notably the infrastructure, construction, engineering, defense and metallurgical industries, environmental and heritage tourism, renewable energy and other areas of common interest, according to the statement.
"They discussed ways to enhance and diversify intra-trade by intensifying communication between the private sectors of the two countries and developing a fertile and enabling investment environment for the private sector, and reviewing and exploring the most prominent investment opportunities by empowering the private sector, providing facilities, creating a suitable business environment, providing the necessary enablers, and solving any challenges facing these companies. They also stressed the importance of the role played by the private sector in strengthening economic relations in order to reach higher and broader levels. The two sides also praised the outcomes of the Saudi-Turkish Investment Forum, which was held on the sidelines of the visit of the Saudi Minister of Investment during December 2022, with the participation of more than 280 major (Saudi and Turkish) companies, which resulted in the signing of 12 agreements and memorandums of understanding for the public and private sectors," the statement said.
"In the field of energy, the two sides stressed the importance of stability of global energy markets, and Türkiye welcomed the Kingdom's role in supporting the balance of global oil markets, in a manner that serves the interests of producing and consuming countries and achieves sustainable economic growth. The two sides expressed their aspiration to enhance cooperation in fields of energy, including renewable energy, electrical interconnection between the two countries, export of electricity from the Kingdom to Türkiye and Europe, energy efficiency, innovation and clean technologies for hydrocarbon resources, and low-carbon fuels such as hydrogen and explore options to cooperate on peaceful uses of nuclear energy and its regulatory aspects. Moreover, they discussed enhancing cooperation in developing projects and supply chains related to the energy sectors and its sustainability," it added.
Concerning climate change issues, the two sides underlined the importance of adhering to the principles of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the Turkish side expressed its support for the Kingdom's efforts in the field of climate change, the statement said. The two sides agreed on the importance of joint cooperation to develop circular carbon economy applications by promoting policies to use it as a tool to manage emissions and achieve climate change goals, taking into account their priorities and different national circumstances, according to the statement.
The statement highlighted that the two sides emphasized strengthening joint cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors, along with working to activate signed memorandums of understanding in the fields of export and import, attracting investments in the industrial sector. Furthermore, both sides highlighted the need to enhance future areas of cooperation in the mineral and industrial sectors, including manufacturing and petrochemical industries, automobile and spare parts industries, aviation industries, ports and marine industries, mining industries and food industries. The two sides welcomed expanding the scope of the two countries’ private sectors’ entry into investment partnerships in the fields of agriculture and food industries, and agreed on the importance of continuing cooperation in the fields of environment, water, agriculture and food security. The two sides expressed their desire to enhance cooperation and partnership in areas related to communications, technology, digital economy, innovation and space. Both sides stressed the importance of activating and strengthening joint cooperation in the fields of transport and various logistics services, and discussed increasing the number of flights between the two countries.
(Daily Sabah)
