RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Turkiye are working to enhance cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors following recent high-level meetings.
To boost trade and non-oil exports while attracting high-quality investments, the Kingdom’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Industrial Affairs Khalil bin Salamah explored promising investment opportunities and joint industrial capacity building during his official visit to Turkiye.
Accompanied by several Saudi private sector officials, this visit follows up on discussions initiated by the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef, during his official visit to the country in August 2023.
The discussions aimed to enhance joint efforts in the industrial and mining sectors, increase trade and non-oil exports, and attract quality investments in these sectors.
The volume of trade between Saudi Arabia and Turkiye reached $6.8 billion in 2023, while Saudi firms have made an investment of over $2 billion in Turkiye, according to the West Asian country’s Trade Minister Mehmet Mus.
Turkiye expects bilateral trade with the Kingdom to reach $10 billion in the coming years, the Turkish official said during the Saudi-Turkish Business Forum in Riyadh in March 2023.
As part of this month’s visit, which builds on ongoing efforts to develop industrial partnerships with Turkiye, Salamah met with the President of the Defense Industry Agency Haluk Gorgun and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Turkish Exporters Assembly Gokhan Yuceer, in the presence of the Saudi Ambassador to Turkiye, Fahd bin Asaad Abu Al-Nasr.
The deputy minister also chaired a roundtable meeting between Saudi and Turkish representatives at the Foreign Economic Relations Turkish Board to discuss industrial and commercial cooperation opportunities. The meeting was attended by numerous representatives from Turkish companies, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Salamah’s visit included stops in several Turkish cities, such as Ankara, Eskisehir, and Istanbul. He toured various private sector companies and institutions, including ASELSAN, Roketsan and Turkish Aerospace as well as TEI, TEI Metal, and TEI Alloys, and visited the Middle East Technical University.
During these visits, he held bilateral meetings to review unique investment opportunities in the industrial and mining sectors and discussed building industrial and knowledge capacities.
In Istanbul, Salamah also met with Saudi students studying in Turkiye in the presence of Faisal Osrs, the cultural attache at the Kingdom’s Embassy in Ankara.
Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Erdogan received Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Istanbul on an official visit to strengthen bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Turkiye, SPA reported.
They also discussed regional developments and efforts to ensure stability in the region. The meeting between Prince Faisal and the Turkish president was also attended by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs Saud Al-Sati, and the Saudi ambassador to Turkiye Fahad Abu Al-Nasr.
During his visit, Prince Faisal also met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, who said in a press conference that Saudi-Turkish relations were witnessing remarkable progress in all political, economic, and security fields.
