Turkey’s Erdogan begins Gulf tour with trip to Saudi

Before travelling to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar later this week, Erdogan is due to arrive in the Red Sea city of Jeddah to meet with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as the nation’s de facto ruler.

Erdogan begins Gulf tour: Before leaving Istanbul, Erdogan declared, “During our visits, our key objective will be cooperative investment and commercial activity with these countries in the next period.

According to him, during the last 20 years, bilateral trade with Gulf nations has grown from $1.6 billion to over $22 billion.

Erdogan stated that they would actively explore ways to achieve a significant increase in this number through the conduct of business forums.

His second trip to Saudi Arabia following a recent rapprochement. Following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018, relations between the two nations became tense.

By aggressively pursuing the matter at the time, starting an inquiry, and informing the international media of the grisly specifics of the death, Turkey infuriated Saudi Arabia.

However, with relations improving, Erdogan travelled to Saudi Arabia in April 2022 and Prince Mohammed visited Turkey in June of the previous year.

Erdogan’s latest trip to Saudi Arabia takes place as Turkey fights a depreciation of its currency and high inflation that have harmed its economy.

Ankara’s pursuit of financial support from non-Western allies was disclosed by a senior Saudi official who spoke anonymously to AFP due to a lack of media authorization. During Erdogan’s visit, the two nations will sign several agreements.

Following his re-election in May for a second five-year term, Erdogan will travel to northern Cyprus, which Turkey invaded and occupied in 1974, before concluding his Gulf tour.

Significance of Erdogan’s Visit to the Gulf: Insights from Sinem Cengiz on Turkish Foreign Policy and Gulf-Turkey Relations

According to Sinem Cengiz, a researcher at Qatar University, “Erdogan’s visit to the Gulf after the crucial elections held in Turkey itself reflects the importance of the Gulf states in the Turkish foreign policy agenda.”

The expert on relations between the Gulf and Turkey stated, “Growing Gulf interest in investing in diverse sectors is a boost for Turkey, which is trying to increase exports to help ease its economic problems.”