RIYADH, 31 January 2007 — The government has conferred the prestigious “King Abdul Aziz Medal of First Rank” on Ugur Dogan, outgoing Turkish ambassador, in recognition of his untiring efforts to promote relations between Riyadh and Ankara.
Dogan’s tenure also saw the historic visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to Turkey in August last year. The visit heralded a new era in Saudi-Turkish relations.
The visit of King Abdullah, the first in 40 years by a Saudi king, was preceded by the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who again came back to Jeddah after the king’s visit to Turkey. “The prestigious Saudi award will be presented to Dogan at the Saudi Embassy in Ankara,” said Batu Kesmen, a spokesman at the Turkish Embassy.
A statement released by the Turkish Embassy said: “As per a royal decision, Dogan has been awarded the King Abdul Aziz Medal for his praiseworthy services.” The Turkish diplomat also pointed out that Naci Koru, who is currently consul general at the Chicago mission, has been named as new ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Ambassador-designate Koru is expected to arrive here on Feb. 15.
On commercial front, Riyadh and Ankara have forged closer relations. The two-way trade has been in the region of SR9.3 billion annually; the Kingdom’s exports to Turkey account for 83 percent of all GCC exports to that country. A number of Turkish companies have a direct or indirect presence in the Kingdom and many companies — especially in the construction sector, such as Yuksel and Gama, have been executing billions of riyals worth of projects in Saudi Arabia.
