Erdogan Visits Saudi Arabia for First Time Since 2017

On Thursday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saudi Arabia in the first high-level visit in years which he hopes will herald a new era of relations after intense efforts to repair strained ties.

Erdogan met with King Salman in an official ceremony in the al-Salam palace in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the ceremony before having a one-on-one meeting with Erdogan, Ankara's communication office said on Twitter.

“All aspects of the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be reviewed, and steps aimed at enhancing the cooperation between the two countries will be discussed at the talks to be held as part of the visit. Besides bilateral relations, views on regional and international matters will be exchanged,” a Turkish statement said.

“My visit reflects our joint will to start a new era of cooperation as the two brotherly countries. 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,” Erdogan said.

“Saudi Arabia holds a special place for Turkey 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.