Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said discussing joint investments and commercial activities was the priority of his Gulf tour.
In comments before departing Istanbul for Saudi Arabia on Monday, Erdogan noted that the volume of trade exchange between Türkiye and the Gulf countries increased from $1.6 billion to about $22 billion during the last 20 years.
Saudi Arabia is the first leg of his tour that will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“Saudi Arabia, which is one of the most important countries in our region, has a special place in areas such as trade, investments, and contracting services... The projects implemented by our contractors in Saudi Arabia during the past 20 years amounted to about $25 billion. We would like Turkish companies to play a greater role in large Saudi projects,” Erdogan stated.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said his country would achieve important investment gains during Erdogan’s tour.
In a televised interview, Yilmaz pointed to opportunities for cooperation between Türkiye and the Gulf countries in many fields, such as energy, defense industries and tourism, and in infrastructure projects.
On Thursday, Erdogan said Gulf states had pledged to pump large investments in his country, expressing optimism about the results of the tour.
Nael Olpak, head of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Council, said more than 200 Turkish businessmen would accompany Erdogan in his Gulf visit.
The Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Council is organizing three business forums in Jeddah, Doha and Abu Dhabi, with Erdogan’s participation.
The Saudi-Turkish Business Forum, which was held in Istanbul on Wednesday, witnessed the signing of 16 cooperation agreements between the Saudi side and Turkish companies. Saudi Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail and Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Bolat attended the forum.
