Türkiye and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday signed several lucrative contracts, including Riyadh agreeing to buy famed Turkish drones during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s trip, as Ankara reaps the benefits of its recent diplomatic push to repair ties with several Gulf powers.
Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) oversaw the signing ceremony of two deals between Turkish drone magnate Baykar and the Saudi Defense Ministry, state news agency SPA reported.
Erdoğan landed in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Monday, accompanied by some 200 businesspeople, for the first stop of a three-day Gulf tour, his first post-reelection multicountry trip that seeks to further diplomacy and economic cooperation with the region.
Saudi Arabia will acquire the drones "to enhance the readiness of the kingdom’s armed forces and bolster its defense and manufacturing capabilities," Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said in a tweet on Tuesday.
In a tweet, Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of Baykar, called the deal "the biggest defense and aviation export contract in the history of the Turkish Republic."
The value of the deal has not been made public. Baykar said in a statement the deal included the export of its landmark Akıncı unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), the larger sibling of its battle-proven combat drone Bayraktar TB2.
The accord entails cooperation in technology transfer and joint production, the company said.
After attending a Saudi-Turkish business forum, Erdoğan and Prince Mohammed discussed "prospects for joint cooperation" in their meeting, SPA reported.
Erdoğan arrived with "high hopes" for investment and finance. "This visit has two main topics: investments and a financial dimension. We have high hopes for both," he told a news conference at an Istanbul airport before setting off.
The tour comes after Erdoğan secured reelection in late May and builds on Ankara’s diplomatic efforts since 2021 to normalize strained ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will seek to expand its already strong partnership with Qatar.
Ahead of the presidential runoff that eventually extended his rule into the third decade, Erdoğan stressed his intention to meet and thank leaders of the Gulf countries he said had recently sent funding to Türkiye, helping relieve the central bank and markets.
Ankara has secured some $28 billion (TL 755.35 billion) in currency swap deals in recent years with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China and South Korea, most of which are believed to be in the Turkish central bank’s reserves.
Erdoğan is traveling to Doha on Tuesday to talk with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The last stop will be the United Arab Emirates. On Wednesday, Erdoğan is scheduled to meet President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) in Abu Dhabi.
Business forums have been arranged in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during the trip.
Erdoğan and Prince Mohammed attended the signing of a defense cooperation plan by Prince Khalid and Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler. The two countries also inked several memorandums of understanding in different sectors, including energy, defense, real estate and direct investments, SPA said.
The MoU in energy includes cooperation in the production, marketing and distribution of refined petroleum products and in petrochemicals production.
The MOU also included cooperation in the electricity supply and exports.
Marking the most advanced and sophisticated drone built by the country, Akıncı was first delivered to the Turkish security forces in late August 2021.
The aircraft is more advanced than Baykar’s TB2, which has been widely used and sold to various countries, including Ukraine, Qatar, Azerbaijan and NATO-member Poland.
"We are taking an important step that strengthens the deep ties between the two countries," said Bayraktar. "The agreement we have signed will contribute to the development of Saudi Arabia’s high-tech development capability while increasing our capabilities in the unmanned aerial vehicle technology field."
"This cooperation aims not only to strengthen the ties between our countries but also to contribute to regional and global peace," he added.
Bayraktar TB2 has made a name for itself globally and demand for the drone soared after it featured in conflicts in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan. Interest increased further following its use by Ukraine’s military to thwart Russian forces.
Baykar has signed deals to sell TB2 to at least 30 countries to date, including four NATO and two European Union member states. It lastly signed a contract worth $367 million with Kuwait for TB2s last month.
The Akıncı drone has been sold to six countries to date, the company says.
Turkish officials have said they expect new investments from Gulf states soon, as Erdoğan’s Gulf tour was preceded by officials including Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and central bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan holding talks in all three countries.