Saudi Arabia and Turkey sign agreements on energy, defence and other fields
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Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman witnessed the signing ceremony.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a number of memorandums of understanding in many fields including energy, direct investments and defence, Saudi state news agency SPA reported early on Tuesday.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, witnessed the signing ceremony of the bilateral agreements between the two countries, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia signed two contracts with Turkish defence firm Baykar to buy drones "with the aim of enhancing the readiness of the Kingdom's armed forces and bolstering its defense and manufacturing capabilities," Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said in a tweet on Tuesday,
The two countries also signed a defence cooperation plan, the minister added.
Erdogan met the crown prince late Monday night, SPA added.
He had arrived in the kingdom earlier on Monday for the first stop of a Gulf tour with "high hopes" for investment and finance as Turkey looks to ease budget strains, chronic inflation and a weakening currency.
Erdogan's Gulf tour, which also includes Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is due to conclude on July 19.
Earlier, President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for the first stop of a Gulf tour with "high hopes" for investment and finance as Turkey looks to ease budget strains, chronic inflation and a weakening currency.
Saudi state-run al-Ekhbariya television showed several Saudi officials welcoming Erdogan as he arrived at the venue of a Saudi-Turkish business forum in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
Erdogan met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, late Monday night, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
Investments and funding from the Gulf have helped relieve pressure on Turkey's economy and hard currency buffer since 2021, when Ankara launched a diplomatic effort to repair ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
"This visit has two main topics: investments, and a financial dimension. We have high hopes for both," Erdogan told a news conference at an Istanbul airport before setting off.
Erdogan's visit to Saudi Arabia is the first stop in a Gulf tour that includes Qatar and the UAE between July 17-19 and follows his re-election in May.
"Turkey will have a serious investment opportunity in the defence industry, infrastructure and superstructure investments in the three countries," he said.
"In addition, these countries will have the opportunity to purchase certain assets from Turkey," he added.
Two senior Turkish officials have said previously that Turkey expects Gulf countries to make direct investments of about $10 billion initially in domestic assets as a result of Erdogan's trip to the region.
Ekhbaria carried live footage showing Saudi Investment Minister Khaled al-Falih addressing dozens of businessmen from both sides at the Saudi-Turkish business forum in Jeddah.
Last month, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek travelled to the UAE to discuss "economic cooperation opportunities" with counterparts, and they met President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Ankara said.
Erdogan appointed Yilmaz and Simsek after the elections in part to execute a U-turn after years of unorthodox economic policy that sent inflation soaring and net foreign reserves to a record low in May. As part of the pivot, the central bank hiked rates by 650 basis points last month.
Turkey's budget deficit surged to 219.6 billion lira ($8.37 billion) in June, seven times the deficit a year earlier, data showed on Monday. Annual inflation was close to 40% in June while the lira has weakened nearly 29% this year.
