Saudi Arabia’s relations with Türkiye have entered a phase of partnership, according to the kingdom’s industry minister.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said Saudi Arabia has confidence in Turkish investors to build an economic base on which the two countries can boost their cooperation.
“We find great opportunities for cooperation with Türkiye in food security, health, military and industrial sectors,” Alkhorayef said.
He said there is also room for cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in the aircraft industry, renewable energy, and space among others.
The Saudi minister is currently on a 5-day visit to Türkiye for talks with government officials and businessmen on ways of promoting partnership between the two countries.
“Aircraft and defence industry and the development of aluminium for aircraft fuselages, titanium and carbon fibre, which are necessary for certain industries, are important sectors for cooperation with Türkiye,” Alkhorayef said.
“Türkiye is a large importer of petrochemical materials, and it is possible to work with Ankara to fill the need in this sector,” he added.
“There are many other fields of cooperation as the auto industry. Saudi Arabia is moving to build an electric car manufacturing sector. The same is true for Türkiye, which manufactures car batteries.”
Saudi-Turkish partnership
Both Saudi Arabia and Türkiye are located on the most prominent routes of global trade and shipping between the East and West.
“The geographical location is one of the most important foundations for our industrial strategy in Saudi Arabia,” Alkhorayef said. “We aim to become a global logistics platform and a leading industrial power.”
The industry minister said the kingdom’s distinctive geographical location, infrastructure, and natural resources “make Saudi Arabia well-placed to become a major player.”
“Türkiye too is capable of further increasing its power by exploiting its geographical location,” Alkhorayef noted.
The Saudi minister said the distinguished ties between Riyadh and Ankara allowed Turkish contractors to win major contracts in various fields, including the military sector.
“We are working together to help raise the level of local content in products so that Turkish companies can compete in the Saudi market,” he added.
Alkhorayef stressed that Turkish products have a good reputation in Saudi Arabia.
"There are discussions with Turkish companies for capacity-building in the kingdom to meet the demands of the local market,” he said.
“The Saudi industrial strategy aims to introduce modern technologies into industry and build an industrial base on the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as the use of artificial intelligence,” he said. “Türkiye has appropriate solutions in these fields.”
The Saudi industry minister stressed that his country's relationship with Türkiye is "bigger than a supplier-customer relationship.”
"It is a partnership that includes the localisation of industries, technology transfer, training, qualification, and capacity-building in the fields of research, development and innovation,” he said.
“Saudi Arabia has the ability to develop new products based on market needs, so partnership will be the basis" for our relationship, he added.
