Turkish President Erdogan's visit to Saudi Arabia seeks to restore strained relations
Ankara has taken several concrete steps to improve ties with Riyadh
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Saudi Arabia on Thursday as the countries seek to re-establish relations after a period of tension and stagnation.
“Turkey and Saudi Arabia will seek to develop all aspects of relations between the two countries during the visit and exchange views on regional and international issues,” the Turkish presidency said.
Mr Erdogan’s visit is seen as the most tangible step by Turkey as it seeks better relations with several countries in the region, including the UAE, Israel and Egypt.
The Turkish president’s last visit to Saudi Arabia was in 2017 during which he met King Salman and performed Umrah.
Officials in both countries have been working on a rapprochement for months, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visiting Saudi Arabia in May last year.
Turkey’s ties with Riyadh and a host of Arab countries were strained by Ankara’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the unrest and protests witnessed across the Middle East after 2011.
Riyadh and Ankara also took different positions on dealing with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Turkey and Egypt held talks last September with a view to normalising relations that were strained after the Egyptian military removed Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi from the presidency in 2013. According to a joint statement, the talks addressed “several regional questions like the situation in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Palestine” as well as the East Mediterranean, where massive natural gas reserves have been discovered.
Earlier this month, Ankara backed the transfer to Riyadh of the trial of Saudi suspects in the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the consulate in Istanbul — a move analysts believe is another sign that relations are thawing.
Saudi Arabia has already tried and convicted several senior intelligence and political officials over what it says was a rogue operation.
While Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said he was ultimately responsible for the failures that led to the killing, authorities have categorically denied he ordered it.
Escaping the prism of zero-sum games
Mr Erdogan is seeking to boost his country’s economy, which is struggling with inflation above 50 per cent and the sharp devaluation of the lira, which has lost more than 40 per cent of its value against the US dollar.
The global economic impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine is likely to add to Ankara’s financial woes. The economic crisis has already been deepened by the coronavirus pandemic.
The diplomatic efforts by Turkey will help it face its perilous financial crisis, analysts say.
“Both Turkey and Saudi have much potential to benefit from a rapprochement. As Turkey’s economy suffers from a serious crisis, Saudi investment and more trade between Turkey and wealthy Gulf Co-operation Council members such as Saudi Arabia can help the Turks amid this difficult period,” Giorgio Cafiero, chief executive of the Washington-based consultancy Gulf State Analytics, told The National.
In February, the Turkish leader visited the UAE, reciprocating a visit in November last year by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The UAE formed then a $10bn fund to support investments in Turkey.
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