JEDDAH: Outgoing Turkish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Naci Koru has termed the two successive visits of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah as a watershed in bilateral relations.
“King Abdullah visited Turkey 40 years after the successful tour of King Faisal in 1969 in connection with the establishment of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). And King Abdullah visited the country for the second time after a year to congratulate Abdullah Gul on his election as president of Turkey. These visits reflect the success of sound bilateral relations. In fact, the visions of King Abdullah have given the bilateral relations a new impetus,” Koru told Arab News in an interview over the weekend.
The envoy is returning to Ankara this month at the end of his successful term in Riyadh. “President Gul’s visit to the Kingdom in February this year has confirmed our vision of a great and successful future. I am confident that the two countries will move forward to consolidate the relations for the better and we will see how fruitful these endeavors are in the near future,” said Koru.
“If we consider the number of mutual high-level visits, we see a clear development in bilateral ties. The last five years in particular have witnessed a great move in terms of mutual visits. Aside from King Abdullah’s visits to Turkey, the Turkish president and prime minister toured the Kingdom five times, and the Turkish Parliament speaker also visited the Kingdom. Many mutual ministerial visits took place as well. Several bilateral agreements were signed, renewing the mutual desire to further develop our ties. The current situation, which reflects the nature of our relationships, demonstrates that the relations between the two countries are normal, not artificial,” he added.
The ambassador added: “We are aware of the importance of the leadership of King Abdullah in the region. Our government attaches great importance to its relations with the countries of the region. This congenial atmosphere has helped to turn the pages of the past and move in the application of the combined plans for a great and successful future.”
Describing Janadriyah Festival as one of the most important cultural events of the Kingdom, Koru said Turkey’s participation in this festival as the main guest, organizing the Saudi cultural days in Turkey, and the decision to organize Turkish cultural days in the Kingdom in the coming days, reflect the dimensions of the development of bilateral relations.
The economic relations between the two countries have reached a good stage, but the bilateral trade figures have not pleased the business communities on both sides and do not reflect the economic potential of the two countries. “One of the most important reasons for this is the delay in the establishment of basics for trade relations. The free trade agreement negotiations we are having now with the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf is one of the most important steps to increase the trade cooperation,” he said.
Citing other reasons, he said: “There is the inadequate recognition of Turkey’s investment potential in the Kingdom. Attempts so far have resulted in increasing the bilateral trade and we look forward to expanding it to more than $10 billion in the near future through investment and business partnerships.
Speaking about security in the region, the ambassador said: “The only way to make the region secure and stable is to unify the countries and take joint decisions to serve their interests. We must unify ourselves to prevent the interference of the external environment in the affairs of the region. Saudi Arabia and Turkey are big and powerful countries in the region and should take action jointly to promote stability and security.”
