Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Round Table Meeting was organized at TOBB Twin Towers. The meeting was attended by Bender bin Ibrahim El-Harif, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, and businessmen.

Hisarcıklıoğlu, in his speech in which he described Türkiye's economic activities and size, said that as the Turkish business world, they are extremely happy that the economic relations between the countries have revived.

Stating that the “Saudi Arabia 2030 Vision” put forward by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will make a significant contribution to the goals of becoming a strong, innovative and leading country in its region, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “In particular, I find the steps to develop the non-oil sector in the economy and to encourage entrepreneurship very valuable. In this framework, we are ready to take part as the Turkish business world in projects to be carried out in various fields such as technology, tourism, transportation and energy.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the historical roots and foundation of the commercial and economic relations of the two countries are solid and that they want to diversify and deepen the relations in the new period.

- “We welcome many more Saudi investors to our country”

Pointing out that mutual trade developed positively last year, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This year, we see a serious growth in our trade. With the momentum gained, I think we can reach a trade volume of 10 billion dollars in the first stage. In the medium to long term, we can realize a trade volume of 30 billion dollars.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that Saudi Arabia has made direct investments of around 2 billion dollars in Türkiye so far, and noted the following:

“We all know that this amount is far from reflecting the potential of our countries. We expect much more Saudi investors to come to our country. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is very important for our contracting sector. Our contracting companies have successfully completed 390 projects worth 25 billion dollars in Saudi Arabia so far. There is a great potential in the field of mutual investments and contracting. In the coming period, we want to cooperate more together. We want to cooperate more not only in both countries, but also in the third countries in the geographies where Saudi Arabia has influence, together with Saudi business people. We are waiting for support for the settlement of past disputes in the field of construction. We are extremely happy that the letter of guarantee issue has been resolved. In this context, I would like to thank for the convenience provided for our business people to obtain visas.”

- Saudi Arabia's Minister of Industry Alkhorayef

Bandar Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, stated that they are trying to promote investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, especially in the industrial and mining sectors, and said, “We trust the Turkish investor and we sincerely hope that Türkiye will take advantage of these opportunities.”

After the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Round Table Meeting held at TOBB Twin Towers with the participation of TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and many business people, Alkhorayef made evaluations about his visit to Türkiye to the press members.

Alkhorayef expressed his pleasure to visit Türkiye and said that the economic relations between the two countries are at an advanced level and have made great progress.

“We trust Turkish investors and we sincerely hope that Türkiye will take advantage of these opportunities,” Alkhorayef said, adding that the purpose of this visit was to introduce Turkish investors to the investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, especially in the industrial and mining sectors, and to show their importance.

Alkhorayef said that his visit would last for 5 days and that he would meet with government officials and private sector representatives, adding that he attended many meetings today and signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of mining with Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar.

Alkhorayef stated that they came together with a group of Turkish business people at the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Round Table Meeting and explained the industrial strategy and mining plans in Saudi Arabia, adding that he will complete his visit to Türkiye in Istanbul.

Alkhorayef then drove the TOGG with Hisarcıklıoğlu.