Speaking at a press conference before leaving for Saudi Arabia, President Erdoğan said: “My visit reflects our joint will to start a new era of cooperation as the two brotherly countries.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a press conference at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul before his departure for Saudi Arabia.
Describing Ramadan as a month of revitalizing and consolidating the ties of solidarity, friendship and brotherhood as well as fasting, President Erdoğan stated: “With this approach, Türkiye has been working sincerely in order to make peace prevail in our region, resolve problems through dialogue and diplomacy, and bring an end to conflicts.”
Noting that his visit to Saudi Arabia reflects the two countries’ joint will to start a new era of cooperation as the two brotherly countries that enjoy historical, cultural and humanitarian ties, President Erdoğan stated: “Around 40 thousand citizens of ours live in Saudi Arabia and contribute to the Saudi Arabian economy through the businesses they have established. We are paying this visit upon the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. 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. Saudi Arabia holds a special place for Türkiye 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 Türkiye. I am particularly pleased since hajj and umrah will resume this year. The quota for our country will be 37,770 this year. There will be no such figure for umrah. Our Religious Affairs Presidency will carry out the necessary works in close cooperation with Saudi authorities.”
“WE WILL ADDRESS ALL ASPECTS OF THE TÜRKİYE-SAUDI ARABIA RELATIONS”
All aspects of the relations between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia would be discussed during the visit, President Erdoğan stressed. “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. Regional and international developments will also be on our agenda. We state it at every opportunity that to us, the stability and security of our brothers and sisters in the Gulf is just as important as our own security and stability. In the current era of increasingly more sophisticated threats, dialogue and cooperation is imperative for the security and stability of our entire region.”
Reiterating that he condemns the UAV and missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “I underline at every opportunity that we oppose terror in all its forms, particularly stressing the importance we attach to cooperation with the countries in our region against terror. I hope that my visit may help us to further strengthen our relations on the basis of mutual trust and respect. We will thoroughly address these issues during our talks with both the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince. I believe that we will carry our relations beyond their former level through our joint efforts. I hope this visit, which takes place in the holy month of Ramadan when our Lord’s mercy, forgiveness and compassion surround the hearts, may pave the way for a new era with the friendly and brotherly Saudi Arabia. I hope our visit may lead to favorable developments for our countries as well as for the Gulf region and the Islamic world.”
