Coldness characterized Turkish-Saudi relations for years. After the assassination of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, business relations – like political ones – froze. All these years, Saudi Arabia unofficially boycotted Turkish products. The government of Saudi Arabia has called on its citizens not to travel to Turkey and not to buy real estate in the country.

However, the crisis now seems to have been replaced by a new spring: Riyadh and Ankara are trying to put the economically unprofitable years behind them and are both focused on improving economic relations: An approach that suits the Crown Prince’s pragmatic business strategies Mohammed bin Salman and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Approach steps in 2024

Several meetings were held in 2024, attended by many business representatives and political representatives from the two countries to discuss cooperation opportunities.

At the “Turkey-Saudi Arabia Investment and Business Forum” on February 16, Turkish Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek called on the Saudis to cooperate with Turkish companies. A month later, the 27th International Business Forum of the Islamic-conservative Turkish business association MÜSIAD was held in Riyadh. After about two and a half months, the representatives of Turkey’s largest business association TÜSIAD visited Saudi Arabia. Erdogan and bin Salman last met in Riyadh on November 11.

Record for Turkish exports

The volume of bilateral trade plummeted to $265,000 in 2021 as a result of Khashoggi’s assassination – today it has recovered to around $5 billion. Turkey mainly exports machinery, carpets and furniture to Saudi Arabia, while Saudi Arabia mainly sells chemical products to Turkey.

Bilateral trade is becoming more and more important, business representatives confirm. Bulent Aymen, deputy president of the Association of Mediterranean Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters, says characteristically: “Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest export markets for Turkey. For many products, it is like a backyard for Turkish manufacturers. Saudi Arabia was a country where many Turkish brands sold their products. Due to a political tension, trade was suspended. But now that this problem has been resolved, our trade is increasing every month.”

Turks are investing more and more

According to Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Council, around 200 Turkish companies now operate in Saudi Arabia – mainly in sectors such as construction, energy, health, food, furniture and tourism.

“Saudi Arabia is a traditional market for us. The Saudi consumer prefers Turkish products. That’s why it’s a good buy. We no longer have the problems with the authorities that we had 2-3 years ago – especially with customs” emphasizes Aymen.

Following the reconciliation between the two heads of state, Turkish companies in Saudi Arabia were awarded various infrastructure contracts with a total value of approximately US$10 billion. During the first three quarters of 2024, Turkish construction companies received the most orders from Saudi Arabia in a global comparison, worth US$2.3 billion.

How long will this “spring” last?

“Turkish companies are seeing a particular rise in the infrastructure and construction sectors. These investments strengthen the labor markets of both countries,” Hashim Sungu, president of the Turkish-Saudi Business Council, told DW. He predicts that the two countries will cooperate in the near future in the field of energy as well.

However, not all experts are so optimistic. The period of “peace and joy” in trade relations will not necessarily remain so in the future, according to Eyyup Vural Aydin, a consultant at Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Privatization and Public-Private Partnerships (NCP).

Turkey lacks, in his opinion, a “strategic plan” to gain a bigger share of the Saudi Arabian market, especially when it has to compete with the US, China and France.

Edited by: Kostas Argyros