Türkiye and Saudi Arabia stressed what they say is the complementary nature of their economies at a major gathering on Friday, expressing commitment to further enhance ties and explore concrete avenues for collaboration.

Senior officials from both nations demonstrated eagerness to leverage their respective strengths and explore new opportunities, as they add pace to normalizing relations that were strained over the recent years.

Addressing the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Investment and Business Forum in Istanbul, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek underscored the depth of opportunities for collaboration across multiple sectors.

Şimşek stressed Türkiye's expertise and resources in the tourism domain, expressing readiness to assist Saudi Arabia.

"Türkiye is currently the fourth in the world in terms of the number of tourists. We have great knowledge, experience and resources in this area. Here we can assist Saudi Arabia," Şimşek said.

He identified construction as another promising sector, noting Türkiye's prominent global presence in the field and expressing interest in participating in Saudi Arabia's ambitious projects.

"Türkiye is one of the major global players in the construction sector. This is also an area where we can collaborate. Construction of some of the world's largest projects has already begun in Saudi Arabia, and we want to be part of it," the minister noted.

Defense domain

Delving into advancements over the past two decades, particularly in aviation and defense sectors, Şimşek outlined Türkiye's progress and signaled potential collaborations between the two nations in third-party markets.

"Saudi Arabia aims to localize its defense industry. We are open to joint design, development, production and global export projects," he added.

Last year, Saudi Arabia agreed to a deal to buy drones from pioneering Turkish developer, Baykar, in the biggest defense contract in Türkiye's history.

The deal was followed by a strategic agreement to localize the manufacturing of drones in the kingdom.

Şimşek also addressed the pivotal role Türkiye and Saudi Arabia could play in fostering peace and security in the region amid global upheavals, stressing the importance of deterrent nations during such turbulent times.

Throughout his presentation, Şimşek elucidated various investment advantages Türkiye offers to investors. He highlighted the vast potential in green areas and products, suggesting opportunities for joint ventures with Saudi Arabia.

"We are investing in renewable energy. We will invest at least $100 billion over 12 years," he said.

Additionally, the minister discussed Türkiye's investments in infrastructure, emphasizing the country's vision in areas such as artificial intelligence and digitalization.

Partnership prospects

Şimşek's remarks were echoed by Khalid A. Al Falih, the Saudi minister of investment, and Ahmed Al Khateeb, the Saudi minister of tourism, who also emphasized the prospects of an economic partnership between the two nations.

Al Falih expressed the kingdom's interest in joint ventures with Türkiye, while Al Khateeb underscored tourism as a crucial component of Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision, citing the ease of entry facilitated by electronic visa systems and the potential for collaboration in infrastructure projects.

Furthermore, stakeholders including Burak Dağlıoğlu, the head of the Presidency's Investment Office, and Nail Olpak, the chair of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), emphasized the complementary nature of Turkish and Saudi economies and the need for deeper cooperation across various sectors.

Dağlıoğlu highlighted the synergies between the nations in various sectors and the growing bilateral trade and investment, while Olpak emphasized the significance of sustained momentum and the potential for joint ventures in third-party countries.

"When considering Türkiye, please also consider our capacities outside of Türkiye," said Dağlıoğlu. "Türkiye has a large domestic market, but it is also a gateway to a broader region."

He said exports to Saudi Arabia increased by over 100% last year and stressed the goal to encourage more investment in Türkiye.

For his part, Olpak said the sides agreed on Friday to establish subcommittees that would help sustain the momentum of the growing relations.

The trade volume between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia experienced a long, steep fall, driven mainly by informal embargoes on Turkish goods after ties were ruptured following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.

In a sign of mending ties, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Saudi Arabia in April 2022, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) traveled to Türkiye in June of the same year.

In the second trip since the rapprochement, Erdoğan flew to Jeddah in mid-July last year as part of a three-country tour of the Gulf that also included Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Olpak emphasized the importance of addressing losses incurred between the two countries and exploring avenues for faster recovery. He stressed the potential in sectors such as construction in Saudi Arabia and the need to support it through investment.

2030 vision potential

Referring to Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision, Olpak highlighted the vast potential and the openness of Saudi authorities toward Turkish firms, emphasizing the need for further collaboration.

The plan envisages hundreds of billions in investments to help wean the economy off hydrocarbon income and build big infrastructure projects to develop sectors such as tourism and industry.

Al Falih stated that Saudi Arabia was well on track with the 2030 vision initiated in 2016, and highlighted Türkiye's possession of many resources needed by the kingdom, stressing the significant potential for cooperation.

"There are substantial opportunities for collaboration between the private sectors of Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. Besides our two countries, there are opportunities present beyond the Middle East," he said.

"Due to serious conflict situations in the region, there has been a delay in prosperity and development. As the two largest economies in the Middle East, we have opportunities for aid and reconstruction throughout the entire region."

Moreover, Al Falih also mentioned the potential for joint ventures in Africa.

Al Khateeb echoed Al Falih's sentiments, stating that tourism is a vital component of the 2030 vision. He acknowledged and stressed the shift toward diversifying sectors such as tourism, mining and sports.

Al Khateeb noted Saudi Arabia's facilitation of entry through electronic visa applications and emphasized the significance of the short flight duration between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia for tourism.

His Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, emphasized the leap in the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia, which reached around 800,000 in 2023, up from some 500,000 in 2022.

Ersoy expressed hope for a projected 1 million Saudi tourists this year.

"Thanks to the electronic visa system implemented for Turkish citizens, visits from Türkiye to Saudi Arabia have increased. We have waived visa requirements for our Saudi guests, which we believe will further boost visitor numbers," the minister noted.

Al Khateeb also praised the quality of infrastructure, particularly citing the Medina Airport constructed by Turkish investors as exemplary and confidence-inspiring.

"Investing in Türkiye presents a golden opportunity. Saudi Arabia is allocating billions of dollars for the 2030 vision. When it comes to roads, transportation, airports, trains and railways, I don't think we can find a better country than Türkiye," he noted.

"I don't believe there's another country that will invest as much in the next 10 or 20 years. Saudi contractors have reached their capacity, and we need more capacity."