Riyadh, Sep 26: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, minister of interior, will travel to Turkey and meet with top Turkish officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday for the first time since the attempted coup in Turkey in July.
The crown prince will also hold talks with Turkish business leaders, according to reports published Sunday in local Arabic media here.
“The crown prince will be accompanied by several high-ranking Saudi officials including Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and Majid Al-Qassabi, minister of commerce and investment,” said a reliable source, while giving details about the royal visit.
He said that the crown prince will hold wide-ranging consultations with the Turkish president and prime minister during his two-day stay in Turkey.
The visit of the crown prince, ahead of the meeting of the high-profile Saudi-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council, is significant, keeping in view the close ties between the two countries.
Turkey has also been vocal on the US’ Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), and has vehemently opposed the bill. Erdogan, in fact, called on the US and the US officials, including President Barack Obama, to veto the bill.
In a recent report, Erdogan said: “Turkey will never approve such an act by the US. The entire country cannot be held responsible just because a few Saudi nationals committed a crime.
Let me give you another example. The leader of FETO lives in the US and all can see the terrorism waged by this group. Should we punish the US for that? Can we pass a law in Parliament to demand compensation from the US?”.
Referring to the major topics on the agenda of discussions between the crown prince and Turkish officials, the source said they include “key bilateral, regional and international issues including terrorism and security.”
The talks may also focus on the failed coup in Turkey.
Crown Prince Mohammed, who is also the chairman of the Council for Political and Security Affairs, will also meet with the Turkish minister of defense and minister of foreign affairs.
The visit coincides with the plan of the Turkish government to announce new incentives and facilities for foreign investors, in particular to Saudi and Gulf businessmen, to promote foreign investments.
A large number of Saudi companies are active in Turkey, while Turkish companies have been actively working in the Kingdom for the last several decades.
The investment of Saudi companies in Turkey will exceed $2 billion as of now.
On the other hand, the trade turnover between Turkey and Saudi Arabia amounted to $2 billion between January and March 2016.
The trade turnover between the countries amounted to $5.5 billion last year.
Several Turkish companies, which have had sound technological know-how, have expressed keen interest to set up joint ventures or work closely with their counterparts in the Kingdom.
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