JEDDAH: Turkish nationals in the Kingdom celebrated four decades of their country’s relationship with Saudi Arabia by observing its 92nd Republic Day in Jeddah.

Adel Abdurrahman Bakhsh, the deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Makkah region) along with a range of diplomats, elite guests, members of the community and journalists joined Turkish Consul General Fikret Ozer to mark the occasion.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Ozer said, are two ‘brotherly’ countries with common priorities and perspectives on many issues, which is rooted in deep historic ties. With a strong economy, and thanks to its influential role in international organizations like GCC, AL and OIC, Ozer said Saudi Arabia has proved itself on the international stage.

The countries enjoy stability and sound economy and therefore have a vital role to play in maintaining peace, security and stability in the region, he said.

“We are glad to see that the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia keep on developing and diversifying in almost every field. This has been manifest in the increasing number of high level visits exchanged between the two countries in recent years. Our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, together with our former President Abdullah Gul, attended the funeral ceremony of the late King Abdullah. President Erdogan also paid a visit to Saudi Arabia to present his compliments to King Salman on the occasion of ascending the throne,” he said.

Additionally, Crown Prince Muhammed bin Naif, who is also the Kingdom’s interior minister, has paid high level visits to Turkey, and has said that it is expected that these bilateral visits will increase in the future.

Saudis’ interest in staying in Turkey for longer periods is also on the rise. By opening additional cultural and economic channels of interaction, this contributes significantly to the already close ties enjoyed by the Turkish and Saudi peoples. Thus, the number of Saudis visiting Turkey is growing every year. In 2014 for instance, 341,000 Saudi nationals visited Turkey, which is an increase of 40 percent, compared to the previous year.

With the new online visa application system (see www.evisa.gov.tr/en/) launched in 2013, it is now easier to obtain visa to Turkey, and it takes only a few minutes to submit an application. The consul general has issued multiple five-year visas for those frequent visitors. Haj and Umrah visits add another important dimension to Turkish-Saudi relations, as half million Turkish pilgrims visited the Kingdom last year alone.

“The Turkey of today serves as a testament to the vision of an independent, secular, democratic and increasingly prosperous country. As we approach the centennial of our Republic, Turkey has set herself a number of goals up till 2023. These include becoming one of the top 10 economies in the world, achieving a GDP of $2 trillion, reaching an annual trade volume of $1 trillion, and receiving 50 million tourists a year,” he said.