ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan mentioned on Monday he will make a visit subsequent month to Saudi Arabia, whose ties with Ankara have been strained in current years.
Asked about resolving points in exports to Saudi Arabia as he left a commerce occasion, Erdogan mentioned he would journey to the Gulf state in February.
“He is anticipating me in February. He made a promise and I will make my visit to Saudi Arabia in February,” he mentioned in a video posted on social media, with out giving a reputation.
Exports to Saudi Arabia have plunged in current years as a result of fraught ties between the international locations. Turkey is now working to fix relations with regional powers, together with the United Arab Emirates, as its economic system grapples with a foreign money crash and hovering inflation.
The Saudi authorities’s media workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Erdogan had sought a gathering with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman throughout a visit to Qatar final month. The assembly didn’t happen then, however individuals conversant in the plan mentioned there could possibly be one quickly.
Saudi Arabia imposed an unofficial boycott on Turkish imports in 2020, as political tensions over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince, spilled into commerce between the 2 regional powers.
After Saudi brokers killed Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, Erdogan had mentioned that the order got here from the “highest ranges” of the Saudi authorities, though he didn’t identify Prince Mohammed, who’s Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.
A U.S. intelligence evaluation launched in February discovered that the crown prince accredited the killing – a cost Saudi Arabia rejects.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have in current months been working to fix ties after having been rivals for years over variations on regional points and political Islam.
Turkey’s general exports rose 32.9% in 2021, whereas the commerce deficit dropped to $45.9 billion, information confirmed on Monday.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Angus MacSwan)
