Saudi Arabia turns to Turkey
Following the visit of a Turkish delegation to Saudi Arabia, the kingdom hopes to establish economic and military ties with Turkey to counter the expanding Iranian influence in the region.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have agreed to form a Strategic Cooperation Council to coordinate and develop relations between the countries in terms of economic, political, defense, security, education and health issues. The countries also are discussing military cooperation, especially with regard to Syria.
The custodian of the two holy mosques, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, received Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at his palace in Riyadh during the prime minister's official visit Jan. 31.
The high-level Turkish delegation Davutoglu headed included Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Mustafa Elitas, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Minister Binali Yildirim and the chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Gen. Hulusi Akar.
Following the meeting between the Saudi king and Davutoglu, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and his Turkish counterpart announced that officials had agreed to implement the Strategic Cooperation Council.
