Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Saudi Arabia today, culminating in a months-long effort to restore Ankara’s ties with Riyadh, which includes Turkey’s decision to transfer trial of the murder case by the Saudi Washington Post columnist, Jamal Kasogiin Saudi Arabia.
According to the Turkish presidency, during his two-day visit, Erdoάνan will discuss Ankara’s relations with Riyadh, as well as ways to boost co-operation with Saudi Arabia.
Analysts and officials say funding from Saudi Arabia could help weaken the Turkish economy.
Ties between the two countries were strained after Kasoghi’s assassination at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Erdogan had accused the “higher echelons” of the Riyadh government of ordering the assassination, but Ankara has since dropped the tone.
Paving the way for Erdogan’s visit, a Turkish court earlier this month decided to suspend the trial of 26 Saudi nationals accused of killing Kasogi and transferred him to Riyadh, a decision backed by the government and provoked by opposition. for human rights.
Reuters reported on Erdogan’s scheduled visit earlier this week.
The visit marks a dramatic shift in bilateral policy and perhaps the biggest step in Ankara’s 2020 effort to re-establish its damaged ties with regional powers, including the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Following the war of words over the Kasogi case, Saudi Arabia unofficially imposed a boycott of Turkish products in 2020.
The Turkish economy has been in a state of disarray for years, and at the end of 2021 a crisis broke out with the Turkish pound due to an unorthodox monetary policy supported by Erdogan, which resulted in inflation exceeding 60%.
With Erdogan facing an electoral test in mid-2023, Ankara has sought to reduce economic pressure through international re-approaches.
In addition to existing $ 28 billion currency swap agreements with China, Qatar, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, Ankara is likely to seek a deal with Riyadh.
He also looks forward to investing and contracts similar to those he has signed with Abu Dhabi, according to officials.
“Erdogan is a pragmatist and a political animal, and his popularity may not last a year if he can not increase jobs. Therefore, he seeks, in part, agreements and funding from Saudi Arabia and a possible exchange of 10 with “$ 20 billion would be worth it,” said one Western diplomat.
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