Senior officials and business leaders from Saudi Arabia and Türkiye gathered Sunday, November 3, 2024, in Istanbul for the Saudi Arabia-Türkiye Business Forum, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEIK), the Saudi Arabia-Türkiye Business Forum brought together more than 450 companies and multiple government entities from both countries and saw the signing of 10 cooperation agreements across various sectors.
Saudi Arabia-Türkiye Business Forum
The Saudi Arabia-Türkiye Business Forum focused on partnership and collaboration opportunities between the business sectors in the two countries. It highlighted sectors such as agriculture, food, tourism, advanced manufacturing, construction, infrastructure, technology, innovation, and logistics.
Moreover, the forum spotlighted the available investment opportunities for Turkish investors under Saudi Vision 2030, in sectors including tourism infrastructure, industrial zones, healthcare, digital services and energy.
On the sidelines of the forum, representatives of Saudi and Turkish companies held a series of bilateral meetings, and signed 10 cooperation agreements in various sectors. Additionally, the Saudi-Turkish Business Council convened to explore its plans and initiatives, as well as the needed government support to address challenges facing investors in both countries.
Strong Relations
The Saudi Minister of Commerce, Majid Al-Qasabi, and his Turkish counterpart, Omer Bolat, attended the Saudi Arabia-Türkiye Business Forum. Speaking at the event, Al-Qasabi hailed the strength of relations between the two nations. He also commended the quality of the Turkish products.
“We have much to learn from Türkiye’s success and position in the services sector,” the Saudi Minister said, according to TRT World.
Al-Qasabi also highlighted the massive transformation that Saudi Vision 2030 has brought to several sectors, including mining, healthcare, technology and communications, inviting Turkish businesses to take advantage of these promising opportunities.
In a similar vein, the Turkish Commerce Minister expressed Türkiye’s aspirations to boost business ties with Saudi Arabia. “We’re on track to surpass $8 billion in mutual trade this year,” Bolat announced. “Our sights are set on breaking the $10 billion psychological threshold by 2025,” he added.
The Turkish Minister attributed this surge to the unwavering commitment of both countries’ leadership, noting that bilateral economic and defense ties were “nearing an excellent level and continue to grow.”
Advancing Economic Ties
Highlighting the boost in economic ties between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, the Vice Chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, Fayez bin Thaar Al-Shuaili, said that the Saudi-Turkish relations have experienced a quantum leap. He added that the establishment of the Saudi-Turkish Business Council has contributed to advancing economic ties between the two countries.
As a result, Saudi Arabia has become a significant economic partner for Türkiye, and among its top 8 trade partners. Furthermore, the number of Saudi companies in Türkiye increased from 11 in 2011to more than 1,400 in 2023, with investments exceeding SAR 18 billion, Al-Shuaili said, as reported by SPA.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Saudi-Turkish Business Council, Sami Al-Osaimi, explained that Saudi Arabia’s business environment has attracted around 390 Turkish companies to invest in the Kingdom. He added that the Council aims to reach a trade volume of $10 billion in the short term.
Saudi Arabia-Türkiye Trade Volume
In 2023, the trade volume between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye reached SAR 25.4 billion, recording a 15.5% growth. The figure included SAR 15.6 billion in Saudi exports to Türkiye and SAR 9.8 billion in Turkish imports to the Kingdom.
In the light of this, DEIK President, Nail Olpak, reiterated Türkiye’s goal of strengthening bilateral trade, noting that the trade volume between both countries reached $6.4 billion as of September. He said: “I see the potential for this figure to exceed $10 billion.”
Moreover, Olpak encouraged more investment in joint projects, adding that the agreement signed during the forum would open the door for new cooperation. “Türkiye has robust infrastructure across sectors, and Saudi Arabia’s reforms provide significant opportunities for Turkish investors,” he said.
A Further Boost
The economic ties between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye are experiencing a boost and will likely see further momentum in the coming period. Against this backdrop, Bolat highlighted the recent successes in bilateral relations.
According to TRT World, the Turkish Minister noted that Turkish contractors secured the most construction bids in Saudi Arabia in 2023, with contracts worth $2.3 billion.
Bolat expressed hopes that these construction bids will surpass $3 billion by the end of the year. Furthermore, he pointed out that the free trade negotiations initiated in March between Türkiye and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were making progress, expressing expectations that they will “add momentum to the mutual economic relations between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.”
