UPDATE - Turkish president, Saudi crown prince discuss new era of cooperation in bilateral ties

ADDS DETAILS FROM STATEMENT, MEETING OF TURKISH-SAUDI JOURNALISTS

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman 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.

Erdogan 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 Türkiye's support for Riyadh's candidacy to host EXPO 2030, according to the Turkish-Saudi joint declaration.

According to the statement, Erdogan 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, Türkiye 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.

Türkiye 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, Erdogan 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 Türkiye following his visit, Erdogan said Ankara and Riyadh are determined to continue efforts for the common interests and stability of the region.

While negotiating with Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations, Erdogan described these efforts as a "new era" for a process of making friends and not enemies.

Meanwhile, Turkish and Saudi journalists came together in the Turkish capital to evaluate ways of media cooperation between the two countries.