ANKARA, 10 November 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah arrived here yesterday on the last leg of a four-nation European tour for talks with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Iraq, Middle East peace and expanding trade ties.
On arrival at Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, the king was accorded a warm welcome by President Gul and top officials. He was later given an official welcome at the presidential palace with a 21-gun salute. King Abdullah, accompanied by Gul, also reviewed a guard of honor.
This is King Abdullah’s second visit to Turkey in less than two years and denotes the Kingdom’s growing ties with Ankara.
King Abdullah and President Gul later held a first round of talks on major regional and global issues, including the situation in Iraq, the Palestinian issue, the Middle East peace process and Lebanon, sources told Arab News.
The two sides called for a just and comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, allowing the Palestinians to have an independent state on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative and UN resolutions.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan continued talks on the topics discussed by the two leaders.
“King Abdullah’s second visit to Turkey within a year reflects the strong relations between the two countries,” said Gul. “The king enjoys great respect, love and trust in the Arab and Islamic world,” he said, adding that this would help him solve regional problems.
Gul commended King Abdullah’s peace proposal for the Middle East, which was relaunched by the last Arab summit in Riyadh. “Turkey is a partner of Saudi Arabia and other peace-loving countries in dealing with issues that will affect the region’s stability negatively,” he added.
The Turkish president said Saudi Arabia and his country were determined to combat terrorism in cooperation with the international community. “Our two countries play a significant role in the region’s stability,” he added.
Gul said the Saudi-Turkish economic relations had been steadily progressing in the past five years. “During this period, trade exchange tripled to $3.3 billion. Saudi Arabia offers a lot of investment opportunities for Turkish companies,” he said.
King Abdullah is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Prince Saud, intelligence chief Prince Muqrin, Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani.
The visit to Turkey is the fourth stop in the king’s European tour that has taken him to Britain, Italy and Germany.
“The views of our respective countries on Middle Eastern issues, primarily Iraq and the Palestinian problem, are not only similar but complementary,” said a statement from Gul’s office.
“The king’s visit is seen as especially significant with respect to establishing security and stability in Iraq, and protecting its territorial integrity during this process,” the statement added.
Turkey is threatening to conduct military raids into northern Iraq to strike at Turkey’s Kurdish rebels, who are using the region as a springboard for attacks on Turkish territory as part of their 23-year separatist campaign. Ankara accuses Iraqi Kurds of supporting the rebels and suspects they have ambitions to break away from Iraq.
King Abdullah’s visit also comes days before Palestinian and Israeli presidents Mahmoud Abbas and Shimon Peres arrive in Ankara. Turkey believes it has an important role to play in Middle East diplomacy, drawing on its close ties with both Israel and the Palestinians.
During his stay in Ankara, King Abdullah will decorate Gul and Erdogan with Saudi Arabia’s top medals, while Gul will present the king with Turkey’s highest medal. The two sides will also sign a deal preventing double taxation. Abdullah last came to Turkey in August 2006 — the first visit to Turkey by a Saudi monarch in 40 years.
Last week, Foreign Minister Babacan visited Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, for talks on Middle East peace efforts and to explain his country’s military planning for an incursion into northern Iraq.
Earlier, speaking to the editors in chief of Saudi newspapers accompanying the king in Berlin, Foreign Minister Prince Saud said King Abdullah’s European tour was instrumental in strengthening relations with friendly countries.
Speaking about the king’s historic meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican last week, he said the two sides had emphasized the need to promote a culture of tolerance and interfaith dialogue. Saudi Arabia has reiterated its stand on the Middle East peace conference called by US President George W. Bush, Saud said, adding that the conference should tackle core issues to make it a success. “We have felt that there is a general agreement to achieve this objective,” he added.
