Turkish president arrives in Saudi Arabia on working visit
Emir of Mecca Khalid Al-Faisal welcomes Recep Tayyip Erdogan at King Abdulaziz International Airport
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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday evening arrived in Saudi Arabia for a two-day working visit.
Erdogan's plane landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
Khalid Al-Faisal, the emir of Mecca region, welcomed the Turkish president at the airport.
Turkish ambassador in Riyadh, Fatih Ulusoy, and Turkiye's permanent representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Mehmet Metin Eker were present as well.
Erdogan is scheduled to meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz and excepted to discuss bilateral relations in all aspects.
The Turkish president is accompanied by first lady Emine Erdogan, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, and Treasury and Finance Minister Nurettin Nebati.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Commerce Minister Mehmet Mus, Deputy Chairman of Turkiye's Justice and Development (AK) Party Binali Yildirim, head of National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan, and Communications Director Fahrettin Altun are also part of the delegation.
Turkiye and Saudi Arabia will start a “new era” to boost bilateral ties, Erdogan said on Thursday before his departure.
“My visit (to Saudi Arabia) is the manifestation of our common will to start a new era of cooperation as two brotherly countries,” Erdogan told reporters at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport.
“It is in our common interest to increase our cooperation with Saudi Arabia in fields such as health, energy, food security, agricultural technologies, defense industry, and finance,” he said.
Erdogan also said Turkiye strives to ensure regional peace and resolve problems via dialogue and diplomacy.
“I believe we will boost our ties in every field through our joint efforts,” he said, stressing “the potential especially in renewable and clean energy technologies.”
He said regional and international developments will also be on the agenda during his visit. “We express at every occasion that we place as much importance on the stability and security of our brothers in the Gulf region as our own.”
Erdogan also underlined the importance of “dialogue and cooperation” for the security and stability of the entire region as “threats are growing more and more complex.”
He also condemned recent drone and missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
In recent years Turkish-Saudi ties suffered due to foreign policy differences. Tensions rose following the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat