Erdogan says his Saudi visit will herald a new era in ties

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he hopes his visit to Jeddah will herald a new era in ties with brotherly Saudi Arabia.

Erdogan said his visit to Saudi Arabia was an example of a common will to start a new period in relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia and he hoped to improve ties on a basis of mutual respect and trust.

Speaking to reporters before his departure from Turkey, Erdogan said he believed increasing cooperation on health, energy, food security, defence industry and finance would be mutually beneficial. He will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during the visit, he said.

Thepresidencysaiderdoganwilldiscussankara’s relations with the kingdom in meetings during the trip, as well as ways to increase cooperation.

Talks with Saudi officials in the Red Sea coast of Jeddah during the two-day visit will focus on ways to increase cooperation, according to a statement from Erdogan’s office. The sides will exchangeviewsonregionalandinternationalissues.

Saudi officials say the visit is focused on normalising relations between the two countries and restoring ties to their previous state.

The two sides will also discuss conflicts in Yemen, Libya, Syria and shared support for the Palestinians. The officials spoke anonymously in order to talk about the visit.

Erdogan is expected to visit the Holy City of Makkah ater his meetings to perform Umrah and prayers in the final nights of Ramadan.

With Turkey’s economy now facing deepening woes and tough elections looming, Erdogan is pushing to mend Ankara’s strained diplomatic relations.

“Turkey cannot continue this sphere-ofinfluence game that it has been pursuing since the beginning of the Arab Spring,” said Birol Baskan, Turkey-based non-resident scholar at Washington-based Middle East Institute.

Turkey’s diplomatic drive has coincided with its worst economic crisis in two decades, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine. Official inflation stands at 61% while the lira has plummeted, falling 44% in value against the dollar in 2021.