Turkey, Saudi Arabia to start a ‘new era’: Erdogan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey and Saudi Arabia will start a ‘new era’ of cooperation in various sectors, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday ahead of his rare visit to Riyadh to mend bilateral ties, where he is expected to meet with both King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“My visit is a manifestation of our common will to start a new era of cooperation as two brotherly countries with historical, cultural and human ties,” Erdogan told reporters at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul before making his two-day trip to Riyadh.

“I believe and see that it is in our common interest to increase our cooperation with Saudi Arabia in areas such as health, energy, food security, agricultural technologies, defense industry and finance,” he added. 

Ankara and Turkey have recently begun efforts to mend their ties which were harmed in 2018 when a Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The incident sparked global outrage and the crime was said to have been approved by the Saudi Crown Prince.

Erdogan early Friday said Ankara and Riyadh are striving to increase all kinds of political, military and economic relations to start a new era, Anadolu Agency reported. 

Saudi Press Agency published photos of Erdogan's visit, saying the two countries "reviewed Turkish-Saudi relations and ways to develop them in all fields." 

Erdogan last visited Saudi Arabia in 2017. 

The Turkish president’s visit comes weeks after a Turkish court decided to transfer Khashoggi’s murder trial to Riyadh. Hatice Cengiz, the journalists’ Turkish fiancee, appealed the decision but it was rejected, a move that has been seen by many as paving the way for Erdogan’s trip

Turkey has begun normalising relations with regional countries. It mended ties with the United Arab Emirates earlier this year. 

“We state on every occasion that we attach as much importance to the stability and security of our brothers in the Gulf region as our own stability and security,” Erdogan said at the airport.