UPDATE 2 - Turkish President Erdogan in Saudi Arabia for talks

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, REVISES DECK

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of a three-day Gulf tour to strengthen regional ties.

On the first leg of his trip, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud and other officials welcomed Erdogan at the airport in the port city of Jeddah.

The president is accompanied by his Cabinet members and other Turkish officials.

Erdogan was welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with an official ceremony that followed a delegation-level meeting.

Bilateral relations and regional and international issues will be on the agenda.

After Saudi Arabia, Erdogan will visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, respectively.

During his visit to three Gulf countries, Erdogan previously said that he wants to boost ties with them and finalize investment deals.

Addressing a news conference in Istanbul before he embarked on his Gulf tour, Erdogan said the diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia were established in 1929.

"We want to extend the solid foundations of our relations to an even wider area of cooperation," he added.

Being one of the most important countries in the region, Saudi Arabia has a special place in areas such as trade, investments and contracting services, the Turkish president said.

"The value of the projects undertaken by our contractors in Saudi Arabia in the past 20 years is approximately $25 billion. We would like Turkish companies to play a greater role in Saudi Arabia's large-scale projects," he added.