Reuters. Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Jeddah's Al-Salam palace on Monday (July 17).
Erdogan's visit to Saudi Arabia comes less than two months after his re-election in May and is the first stop in a three-day Gulf tour that includes Qatar and the UAE.
Turkey has hopes that the tour will lead to future investment in the country as Ankara looks to ease budget strains, chronic inflation and a weakening currency.
Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to buy Turkish drones, one of several lucrative contracts President Tayyip Erdogan secured for Turkey's struggling economy as Ankara reaps the benefits of his recent diplomatic push to repair ties with Gulf Arab powers.
Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the signing ceremony between Turkish defence firm Baykar and the Saudi defence ministry, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Investments and funding from the Gulf have helped relieve pressure on Turkey's economy and hard currency buffer since 2021, when Ankara launched a diplomatic effort to repair ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
