Roundup: Saudi king concludes high-profile state visit to Turkey

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz wrapped up his official visit to Turkey Wednesday after concluding talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"In addition to bilateral relations, regional developments starting with Syria have been discussed," the president's office said regarding the king's tete-a-tete meetings with Erdogan and both delegations led by heads of states.

The Turkish president's office said the Saudi King's visit brought both countries even closer and further secured their ties which are already robust throughout all fields.

Both leaders agreed to maintain their current consultation system concerning regional affairs, and exchanged views on the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit agenda to be held in Istanbul on Thursday and Friday.

Although King Salman wrapped up his official visit in Ankara on Wednesday, he will attend the OIC leaders' summit in Istanbul during which Turkey will take over the presidency.

SECURITY, TERROR MATTERS DISCUSSED

The Turkish president and Saudi King also tackled security issues during their talks, focusing on combating terrorism.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are staunch supporters of Syria's opposition forces and forged closer military and security ties in recent years.

In addition, both have aligned themselves against Iran in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.

"Turkey and Saudi Arabia don't like what's happening in Iraq, Syria and Yemen," pointed out Ilnur Cevik, The Turkish president's advisor.

The Turkish army participated in military drills in Saudi Arabia while Saudi jets took part in air force exercises in central Turkey.

Turkey said it will join the Saudi-led military coalition against terrorist groups earlier this year.

For the first time ever, Riyadh deployed warplanes in Incirlik Air Base in the Turkish province of Adana near the Syrian border as part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS).

Turkey's military on Wednesday retaliated against IS targets in Syria after rockets struck its border city Kilis for the third day in a row.

No injuries were reported in Wednesday's Kilis strikes but 21 people were wounded on Tuesday by rockets fired by suspected IS militants from the Syrian border side.

PERSONAL TIES BETWEEN LEADERS

According to Erdogan's advisor, Cevik, bilateral relations warmed up since Salman was crowned King in January 2015.

"The king proved to be a true friend of Turkey's after boosting ties with Ankara and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he respects," he explained.

Erdogan greeted the King at the airport on Monday, a day before Salman was scheduled to start his official visit, and escorted him to his hotel.

On the King's first high-profile day during his visit to Turkey, President Erdogan welcomed Salman with an official ceremony at Ankara's presidential palace on Tuesday.

The King was also awarded the Order of the State of the Republic of Turkey, the highest state recognition Turkey awards to foreign nationals, due to the Saudi King's efforts to promote friendly ties with Turkey.

"My precious friend, my dear brother, since acceding to the throne in Saudi Arabia, you have contributed substantially towards developing friendly relations between our countries," Erdogan said during the ceremony.

King Salman expressed his gratitude for the medal and the appreciation of friendly ties.

TURKEY-EGYPT ROW

The King, who was in Egypt before visiting Turkey, has reportedly attempted to broker a deal between Ankara and Cairo.

"Riyadh's main goal is to mend ties between Turkey and Egypt," Ceyda Karan, an expert on Turkish foreign policy, said.

She emphasized that Saudi Arabia has attempted to establish a Sunni bloc extending from North Africa to Pakistan against Iran.

However, Turkey's policy towards Egypt has not changed, signaled Erdogan's spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin during Monday's press briefing.

"Our position regarding Egypt is known, and we've previously stated it," he said.

Diplomatic ties between Turkey and Egypt were severed after former President Mohamed Morsi was removed from power in 2013 during popular protests.

Turkey currently does not recognize President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's administration as a legitimate one.

Sisi is not expected to show up at the OIC's summit in Istanbul on Thursday, but will send a lower level envoy instead to attend the meeting hosted by Turkey.

Karan said it would be miraculous if Saudi convinces the Egyptian president to attend the OIC summit.

Mehmet Acet, another Turkish expert, believes that Turkey, and especially President Erdogan, will maintain his distance from Sisi's administration in Egypt.

He said the Saudi King most likely delivered a message to the Turkish leadership from President Sisi and it remains to be seen what consequences, if any, that would lead to in the future.

MORE ECONOMIC INTERACTION

During Ankara's meetings, both leaders pledged to increase business, investment and trade ties between both countries.

The trade volume between both countries was 5.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2012 and dropped to 5.6 billion dollars in 2015.

According to the latest available trade data from Turkey's government, the volume has slightly increased by 2.3 percent during the January-February period compared with the same period the previous year.

Turkey received 2 billion dollars in investments from Saudi Arabia and wants to increase that to 10 billion dollars.

Acet emphasized that trade relations between both countries will soon resume.

"A decision was taken to establish a high-level strategic council during Erdogan's recent visit to Saudi Arabia," he recalled, adding that political and economic ties will develop further through intergovernmental conferences.

Turkey's Trade and Customs Minister, Bulent Tufenkci, proposed the establishment of trade centers to promote the sale of goods between both countries during a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Trade and Industry, Tawfiq bin Fevzan Al-Rabia.

Trade centers, which differ from free trade zones, would permit entry of Turkish products into the Middle East and Gulf via Saudi Arabia and allow Saudi goods to enter Europe via Turkey. Endit