Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday the signing of numerous deals with Turkey, including one to buy drones, as part of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's official visit to the Islamic kingdom. The deal has been labelled the "biggest defence contract" in Turkey's history.
The Turkish president arrived in Jeddah on Monday, the first stop on his tour of the wealthy Gulf monarchies, which is aimed at a diplomatic push to repair relations with Gulf powers and boost business ties to help the wintering Turkish economy.
In a ceremony, Erdoğan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) - the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia - signed agreements in the fields of energy, investment, defence and media, Saudi news agency SPA reported.
Among those deals are two contracts with Turkish company Baykar - co-owned by Erdoğan's son-in- law - which manufactures drones, particularly the TB2 Bayraktar, a flagship of Turkey's defence industry.
Saudi Arabia "will acquire drones with the aim of enhancing the readiness of the kingdom's armed forces and its defense and construction capabilities," Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said.
The financial value of the deals was not disclosed, nor were the types of drones the kingdom plans to buy, but an Arab diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the purchase was for the TB2 model.
In a tweet, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar referred to the "largest defence and aviation export contract in the history of the Turkish Republic," without disclosing the amount.
Suudi Arabistan Savunma Bakanlığı (@modgovksa) ile Bayraktar #AKINCI TİHA ihracatı ve iş birliği sözleşmesi imzaladık.
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti tarihinin en büyük savunma ve havacılık ihracatı sözleşmesi hayırlı ve uğurlu olsun. 🇹🇷🇸🇦#MilliTeknolojiHamlesi 🌍🇹🇷 https://t.co/Y3JwhZV826 pic.twitter.com/iCfehdIHs6
— Haluk Bayraktar (@haluk) July 18, 2023
The development of the local military industry is part of an ambitious plan by Prince bin Salman to diversify the kingdom's economy away from oil.
The Turkish company emphasised in a separate statement that the agreement includes cooperation on technology transfer and joint production "to advance the high-tech development capacity of the two countries."
The Turkish president's visit to Saudi Arabia is the second after a rapprochement between Riyadh and Ankara, which came after a period of diplomatic coolness that culminated in 2018 with the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Erdoğan's visit comes at a time when Turkey is struggling with the devaluation of the Turkish lira and inflation that have hit its economy.
Investments and funding from Gulf countries have helped ease pressure on the Turkish economy and foreign exchange reserves from 2021, when Ankara launched a diplomatic effort to restore ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Last month, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek traveled to the United Arab Emirates to discuss "economic cooperation opportunities" with their counterparts and met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahi, according to Ankara.
After Saudi Arabia, the Turkish leader is expected to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
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