RIYADH: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday, Saudi media said, his first visit to the kingdom in over two years.
Ties between Turkiye and Saudi Arabia have steadily recovered in recent years, with the countries cooperating on a range of diplomatic issues.
This includes support for Gaza and backing Syria’s new government in the wake of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
Erdogan is set to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the visit — his first to the kingdom since July 2023, which was part of a Gulf trip aimed at drumming up investments.
There was no official indication of what the two sides would discuss.
But Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu reported that they would discuss the “deepening cooperation” between the countries, as well as regional and global developments.
It added that Erdogan would then travel to Cairo on Wednesday.
The meeting in Riyadh comes days ahead of a potential round of talks in Turkiye between the United States and Iran on February 6, an Arab official told AFP early Tuesday, after Tehran called for the restart of nuclear talks and Washington warned of consequences if a deal was not reached.
Erdogan has emerged as one of the key mediators leading a diplomatic push to find a resolution between the long-time foes to head off open conflict between the two sides.
