JEDDAH — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday on the first leg of a three-nation Gulf trip that will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The main agenda of the trip is to explore the prospects of further bolstering bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The Gulf tour aims to strengthen relations between Turkey and the three countries, according to the Turkish official sources. It is expected that Erdogan will meet, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Saman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. On the second leg of the Gulf trip, Erdogan will arrive in Doha on Tuesday where he will hold wide ranging talks with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. The talks between Erdogan and the leaders of the three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will focus mainly on further enhancing bilateral relations. The leaders will discuss international and regional issues of common concern, including developments in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and Palestine. The Turkish president will be accompanied by a strong contingent, including several ministers as well as members of Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey and 200 businessmen, investors and company owners. Three economic forums will be held in Jeddah, Doha and Abu Dhabi, organized by the Turkish Foreign Relations Council with the relevant authorities in the three countries, in the presence of Erdogan. The Turkish side is counting on the signing of several agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE during the tour, and these pacts would cover the entire gamut of defense industries, energy, health, agriculture, food, contracting, logistics, infrastructure, e-commerce and petrochemicals. Erdogan anticipated that his Gulf tour would be instrumental in further strengthening all forms of relations with the GCC countries. He revealed that Turkey had received pledges to pump large investments, saying, "these investments may be in Turkey, and they may be in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates," without disclosing further details. He expressed hope about concluding investment agreements with the three countries. In a press briefing on Thursday, Erdogan promised that the visits are an opportunity that will allow him personally to see the support that the Gulf countries will provide to Turkey, saying "there are pledges from the Gulf countries during our past meetings to pump large investments into Turkey, and we will put the finishing touches during our next tour." He pointed to several visits by Turkish officials to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to prepare for his visits to the three countries. Erdogan said that he would visit the three Gulf countries, accompanied by a delegation from his government, adding: "We want to strengthen relations between us." On Thursday, Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek concluded a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, during which he was accompanied by Governor of the Central Bank Hafiza Gaye Erkan, preceded by two visits to the UAE, and then Qatar, accompanied by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz. These trips were aimed at preparing the ground for Erdogan's visit. During these trips, the Saudi side and the Turkish companies had signed 16 agreements in the fields of real estate development, construction, engineering consultancy and a number of other investment sectors, with a value exceeding SR2.3 billion during the Saudi-Turkish Business Forum, which held in Istanbul on Wednesday. The forum discussed the opportunities for Saudi-Turkish investments, and to enhance communication opportunities with Turkish investors and companies in the fields of urban development, construction, real estate development, contracting, smart cities, urban development, with the participation of businessmen, investors, and companies specialized in the sector. The forum was held in the presence of Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majed Al-Hogail and the Turkish Minister of Trade Omar Polat. Al-Hogail promised that holding the forum is a translation of the depth of historical relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as they are two friendly countries. He pointed out that the forum is an opportunity to enhance cooperation and joint work and exchange successful experiences in the municipal and housing sectors. He explained that Saudi Arabia is witnessing qualitative progress in various economic and development sectors, including the municipal and housing sectors, achieved through effective strategic planning to reach the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. Al-Hogail expressed his aspiration to enhance cooperation between the two sides in the field of real estate development, automation and infrastructure projects. He stressed that Saudi Arabia provides many promising and diversified investment opportunities through a qualitative environment that attracts investment. The minister also drew attention to the start of building more than 300,000 housing units, on areas exceeding 150 million square meters, with an investment value of more than SR100 billion. He called on all Turkish companies to invest in real estate development in Saudi Arabia. On his part, Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Polat considered that the forum opens new horizons for cooperation between the two countries in many economic sectors.
