Riyadh: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit Saudi Arabia tomorrow, Tuesday, for an official meeting with senior Saudi officials. The discussions will focus on strengthening bilateral relations and addressing key regional issues, particularly efforts to consolidate the truce in Gaza.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has outlined five major topics for the meetings in Saudi Arabia, with a significant emphasis on enhancing political ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The agenda will cover the enhancement of trade relations, as Turkey aims to boost the volume of trade exchange with Saudi Arabia, which reached approximately 8 billion dollars in 2024, half of which comprised Turkish exports.
Fidan is expected to highlight the role of the Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council as a crucial mechanism for deepening cooperation and exploring new partnership areas. Discussions will also include increasing international engagement with the new Syrian government, appreciating Saudi Arabia’s supportive stance, and collaborating on lifting sanctions on Syria.
The Turkish minister will emphasize the necessity of increasing international pressure on Israel to establish a truce in the Gaza Strip and achieve lasting peace. The cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia in implementing the vision of a two-state solution for the Palestinian issue will be a focal point of the discussions.
Over the years, relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia have seen continuous development across various sectors. Turkish companies have executed more than 400 projects in Saudi Arabia, and the Turkish defense industry has garnered significant interest from Saudi partners.
Within the framework of this visit, the Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council’s activities will be reviewed. Established in 2016, the council held its first meeting in Ankara in February 2017, with a second meeting anticipated in Riyadh under the leadership of the two foreign ministers.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia maintain a close dialogue on critical regional matters, such as Palestine and Syria, and both countries participate in the Gaza Contact Group within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League. Earlier this month, Fidan visited Saudi Arabia for a multilateral meeting on Syria in Riyadh, where he engaged with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Prince Faisal had previously visited Turkey in July.