Turkey, Saudi Arabia agree to boost economic, military, energy relations

Turkey and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on the establishment of a high-level strategic cooperation council to set up a strategic cooperation council to strengthen military, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries.

“The council will be interested in many matters, including security, military, political, economic, trade and investment fields as well as energy, education, cultural affairs, medicine and other fields,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said later.

The announcement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Saudi King Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss boosting ties.

The two leaders also talked about how the newly formed counterterrorism coalition comprising 34 Muslim-majority nations will handle mechanisms of action in its quest to curb militant groups in the region.

“The meeting produced a desire to set up a high-level strategic cooperation council between the two countries,” Jubeir told a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu after talks in Riyadh. He said the council will deal with security, military, economy, trade, energy and investment between the two countries. Meanwhile, Turkey supports a Saudi-led initiative to fight terrorism and will take part in it, Çavuşoğlu said.

Turkish Foreign Minister asserted his country’s support for the efforts of the kingdom and its dealing with the issues of the region on the political and military levels. He stressed the constant support by Turkey for the kingdom’s efforts in the fight against injustice in its various forms referring to the Arab coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to restore legitimacy to the Yemeni government.