The Saudi-Turkish Business Forum has set a goal of exceeding $10 billion in the trade exchange between Riyadh and Ankara.
The event witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements in industrial development, and announcement of the establishment of a joint engineering automation project that will be implemented in the Middle East.
The Saudi-Turkish Business Forum, organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers, kicked off in Riyadh on Sunday. It was attended by several officials, and over 450 Saudi and Turkish companies, and government agencies from both countries are taking part.
Speaking at the form, Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi affirmed that Saudi Arabia is undergoing an unprecedented renaissance and transformation thanks to the ambitious leadership and Vision 2030.
He explained that the Kingdom boasts six features that make it the land of opportunities, citing investment potential in minerals, tourism, housing, infrastructure, services, communications, and digitization in Saudi Arabia.
He added that the forum will contribute to finding new possibilities for economic cooperation with Türkiye.
Turkish Minister of Trade Mehmet Mus said Saudi Arabia and Türkiye are two emerging economic powers with significant competitive advantages and they have expressed their desire to increase trade volume to $10 billion in the coming years.
Mus also stated that the Turkish economy is expanding rapidly and that a comprehensive investment incentive system is in place, boasting a massive market with one billion consumers in Türkiye, the European Union, and the free trade zone.
The Minister pointed out that the volume of foreign investment amounted to $285 billion, which reflects a suitable investment environment, urging Saudi companies to enter the Turkish market and capitalize on the opportunities.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Saudi Chambers Hasan al-Hwaizy explained that Saudi-Turkish relations, which were formalized in 1929, are one of the best international models, which positively reflected in the formation of the Saudi-Turkish Council as a platform for cooperation.
In 2022, the two countries agreed to develop and diversify intra-trade and facilitate trade exchange, he added, indicating that 1,140 Saudi companies invested in Türkiye and 390 Turkish companies currently operate in Saudi Arabia in various sectors.
Trade exchange ranged between $4.5 billion and $6.1 billion from 2017 to 2022.
Head of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board, Nail Olpak indicated that the recent visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Türkiye pushed the bilateral economic relations forward.
Olpak also explained that the joint road map contributed to the rapid growth of trade and investments, noting that Turkish companies look forward to participating in Saudi projects.
The forum resulted in the signing of three commercial cooperation agreements between Saudi and Turkish business representatives to localize the manufacturing of welding equipment and supplies, as well as the production of high-tech trucks and tanks.
It also saw an agreement to launch a joint Saudi-Turkish automation and engineering project for the Middle East region.
Saudi Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid al-Hogail met in Riyadh with the Turkish Trade Minister and several representatives of Turkish companies specialized in the construction and contracting sector.
The officials stressed the need to enhance cooperation between their countries in the municipal and housing sectors and the importance of exchanging experiences to achieve common interests.
