Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has announced several times this year that he will soon be visiting Saudi Arabia to normalize strained relations with the kingdom.

Finally, on Thursday evening, he traveled to Jeddah for a two-day visit, where he was received by King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

Both sides had stated in advance that they did not want to make any official statements about the meeting.

Rainer Herman

Editor in Politics.

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The visit was made possible because an obstacle had previously been removed that stood in the way of normalizing relations: On April 7, an Istanbul court assigned the task of solving the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to the Saudi judiciary.

The official justification was that since the 26 accused could not be summoned, questioning in Turkey was not possible, but it was in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is now hoping to shelve the case.

The Wall Street Journal newspaper wrote that Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman expected Erdogan to promise not to mention the Khashoggi case again during the visit.

Khashoggi's Turkish widow, Hatice Cengiz, and international human rights groups have sharply criticized the Istanbul court's decision.

Visit prepared for months

Ahead of his departure, Erdogan said the fasting month of Ramadan, which ends this Sunday, is a good time to "refresh and strengthen brotherly ties."

Both sides are determined to deepen their political, military and cultural ties, as well as to cooperate in the areas of finance, energy and food security.

Close cooperation makes sense, since the two economies complement each other well.

The visit had been prepared for months.

Turkey has been the driving force behind this more than Saudi Arabia, where large sections of the state apparatus continue to view Erdogan with suspicion.

Finally, Erdogan had said that the order to assassinate Khashoggi on October 2, 2018 at the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul came from "the highest authority".

Erdogan is visiting Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman, the Turkish Presidential Office has now announced.

Erdogan's trip continues the realignment of Turkey's foreign policy.

Five months ago, Turkey and the United Emirates normalized relations with the visit to Ankara of Muhammad Bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog then visited Ankara in early March, and since last year Turkey and Egypt have been holding talks to normalize relations as well.

Now it's Saudi Arabia's turn.

So far, the country has practiced an unofficial boycott of goods because of Erdogan's sharp criticism of the Saudi crown prince.

Turkish exports therefore fell from $3.2 billion in 2019 to just $200 million in 2020.

Turkey has thus lost an important sales market.

Economic Crisis in Turkey

Turkey is also hoping to conclude a currency swap with Saudi Arabia in order to be able to draw on more funds if necessary to support the Turkish lira, which is under pressure to depreciate.

Therefore, the finance ministers of both countries, Nureddin Nebati and Muhammad Jadaan, phoned each other on Wednesday.

Turkey previously agreed a $4.9 billion swap with the Emirates.

In total, Turkey is reported to have $28 billion in foreign exchange swap agreements.

The Emirates have also announced plans to invest ten billion dollars in Turkey.

Ankara is hoping for a similar commitment from Saudi Arabia.

Because an economic crisis is hitting Turkey with full force – with an inflation rate of 61 percent, even according to official figures, and rising unemployment.

In addition, the Russian war against Ukraine is now also affecting the Turkish economy.

The opposition would presumably win elections at the moment due to the economic crisis.

The next presidential and parliamentary elections must take place in the second quarter of 2023 at the latest.

In addition to economic motives, the reorganization of the region also plays a role in the most recent Turkish attempts at reconciliation.

In 2011, Turkey and Qatar had supported Islamist movements and in particular the Muslim Brotherhood in the mass protests in the Arab world.

On the other hand, however, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Egypt persecuted the Muslim Brotherhood.

The three countries therefore imposed a boycott on Qatar in 2017, which they only lifted in 2021.

This also made a rapprochement with Turkey possible.

Turkey, at the time, wanted to break out of the isolation it had maneuvered itself into as a result of its aggressive actions in the eastern Mediterranean.

Erdogan made a deal with the Emirates: Turkey restricted the sphere of action of the Muslim Brotherhood's media in Istanbul to the extent that the Emirates prevented the Turkish mafia boss Sedat Peker, who is in Dubai, from making further disclosures about the machinations of the Turkish leadership publish.

The nations that have been enemies for almost a decade are now closing in on each other to prevent the United States' gradual withdrawal from the Middle East from creating a vacuum that could benefit China and Iran.

Turkey offers itself as a reliable security policy ally with a strong armaments industry of its own.