President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Wednesday declared their determination to launch a new era of cooperation in bilateral ties, including in the political, economic, military, security and cultural spheres.

Erdoğan welcomed bin Salman with an official ceremony in the capital Ankara.

According to a joint declaration, the leaders emphasized the countries' determination to start a new era of comprehensive cooperation in many areas.

Ankara and Riyadh decided to deepen consultation and cooperation in regional issues to strengthen stability and peace, it said.

The two leaders vowed to develop and maintain cooperation on the basis of the "historical brotherhood" of the two nations for the future of the region.

They also highlighted the importance of increasing the number of flights between their two countries, easing bilateral trade and exploring investment opportunities.

Saudi Arabia also expressed its gratitude for Turkey's support for Riyadh's candidacy to host EXPO 2030, according to the Turkish-Saudi joint declaration.

According to the statement, Erdoğan and the Saudi crown prince discussed the possibility of developing and diversifying mutual trade, facilitating bilateral trade between the two countries and overcoming difficulties as well as increasing communication in the public and private sectors of the two countries to explore investment opportunities and transform them into concrete partnerships in various fields.

As G20 member countries, Turkey and Saudi Arabia acknowledge the great economic potential of the two nations and the potential of Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision for investment, trade, tourism, development, industry, mining, construction projects, transportation-infrastructure, agriculture, food security, health, media and sports.

The two leaders agreed to activate the Saudi-Turkish Coordination Council, to increase the level of cooperation and coordination in areas of common interest, and to work on the sharing of experience between experts of the two countries, the statement added.

They also expressed their cooperation expectations in the energy field, such as petroleum and refining, petrochemicals, energy efficiency, electricity, renewable energy, innovation, and clean technologies for hydrocarbon resources.

The joint statement also emphasized a consensus that was reached on the development of production and investment partnerships in the fields of artificial intelligence, digital technologies and smart cities plus encouraging cooperation between private sector actors operating in these fields.

Turkey welcomed Saudi Arabia's launch of the "Saudi Green Initiative" and "Middle East Green Initiative" in the field of environment and climate change, it said. It also expressed its support for Saudi Arabia's efforts in the field of climate change for the implementation of the Circular Carbon Economy Platform initiated by Saudi Arabia and approved by the leaders of the G20 countries.

The parties reiterated the importance of adhering to the principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and the need to implement the climate agreement by focusing on emissions without sources, the statement added.

In late April, Erdoğan paid a two-day working visit to Saudi Arabia aimed at boosting bilateral ties.

During his visit, he met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as well as the crown prince and discussed various international, regional and bilateral issues.

On his way back to Turkey following his visit, Erdoğan said Ankara and Riyadh are determined to continue efforts for the common interests and stability of the region.

Madia reaction

Saudi state media on Wednesday hailed the crown prince's visit to Turkey and the distinguished relations between Riyadh and Ankara.

The state-run Al-Ikhbariya television said Saudi-Turkish relations "witness a new phase of development and prosperity with tangible steps between the leaderships of both countries."

"Cooperation between Riyadh and Ankara is important to address regional files, combat terrorism and support stability," it added.

The state news agency SPA said relations between Riyadh and Ankara are growing in various fields.

"Mutual visits between the leaderships in the Kingdom and Turkey give a clear example on the strength of their relations," SPA said.

Several media outlets also gave a detailed coverage of bin Salman's visit to Turkey on their accounts on social media platforms.

Relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia deteriorated in the past decade, but both countries are now seeking to revive ties.

Before his trip this year, the last time Erdoğan visited Saudi Arabia was in 2017 when he tried to mediate a dispute pitting the kingdom and other Gulf countries against Qatar.

Ties between Ankara and Riyadh cratered after a Saudi hit squad killed and dismembered Khashoggi in 2018 at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

Turkey had opened a trial in absentia against 26 Saudis suspected in Khashoggi's killing, but the court earlier this year ruled to halt the proceedings and transfer the case to Saudi Arabia, paving the way for the countries’ rapprochement.

Over the past year, Ankara has embarked on a diplomatic push to reset relations with regional powers such as Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia after years of antagonism.

Erdoğan had reiterated that Turkey hopes to maximize its cooperation with Israel, Egypt and Gulf nations "on a win-win basis," at a time when Ankara intensified diplomacy to mend its fraught ties with these regional powers after years of tensions.

The normalization process launched with Saudi Arabia and the UAE will make great contributions to both sides, Erdoğan said recently.

Saudi Arabia for its part has been trying to broaden its alliances at a time when relations between Riyadh and Washington are strained.