Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists Association (TUSIAD), Orhan Turan, said that the volume of trade between Turkey and Saudi Arabia in 2023 reached $6.8 billion, while the two countries seek to raise trade exchange between Ankara and Riyadh to $30 billion in the medium and long term, according to a previous forecast. President of the Union of Turkish Chambers and Stock Exchanges, Rifat Hisarciklioglu.
In a statement published by TUSIAD on Thursday, after a delegation visited Saudi Arabia, Turan indicated that Turkey’s exports to the Kingdom increased by 150% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching $2.6 billion.
He explained that they held fruitful and comprehensive meetings with ministries, businessmen and chambers of commerce in the Kingdom.
He pointed out that the association’s first visit to Saudi Arabia was very useful for understanding the investment opportunities and incentives provided by the projects initiated by Saudi Arabia within the framework of Vision 2030.
He stated that the Turkish private sector can make significant contributions to the implementation of Saudi projects within the framework of Vision 2030.
He said: “I believe that there are important opportunities to develop our trade and investment relations and deepen our economic cooperation.”
Last February, the Turkish-Saudi Investment and Business Forum was held in Istanbul with the participation of more than 1,200 officials, businessmen and personalities from the two countries, amid talk of broad prospects for cooperation between the two countries.
In a statement during the forum, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said: “Just a few years ago, there were between 20 or 30 Turkish companies operating in Saudi Arabia, while in 2023 their number reached nearly 400 Turkish companies registered in Saudi Arabia.”
Al-Falih indicated that his country will take serious steps to make investments within the framework of Vision 2030.
He added, “We are talking about investment opportunities amounting to about 1.8 trillion dollars with international companies. I hope that Turkish companies will be the biggest beneficiaries of these investment areas.”
For his part, Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khatib said at the forum that his country “will ask Turkish friends for assistance in the fields of defence, construction, contracting, tourism and industry within the framework of Vision 2030.”
