Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a reciprocal visa exemption agreement on Wednesday for holders of diplomatic and special passports, marking a concrete step forward in bilateral relations between the two regional powers.
Following the signing ceremony in Ankara, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Complex. The two sides reviewed bilateral ties and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in support of regional security and stability. Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji, Ambassador to Turkey Fahad Abualnasr, and senior ministry official Fahad Alharthi attended the meeting.
Coordination Council Charts Path Ahead
Prince Faisal and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also co-chaired the third meeting of the Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council. The session reflected, in the words of both sides, “the advanced relations between the two countries and their commitment to strengthening coordination and cooperation across all fields.”
Both ministers emphasised the importance of institutionalising cooperation through the Council’s framework to ensure, as they put it, “sustainable progress and shared prosperity.” They further agreed to hold the fourth Council meeting in the Kingdom on a mutually agreed date.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia established the Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council in 2016, which operates through five sub-committees covering political and diplomatic affairs, military and security, culture and tourism, social development and health, and trade and investment. The Council held its first meeting in Ankara in February 2017 and its second in Riyadh in May 2025, with sub-committees meeting regularly, most recently in April last year.
