RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Turkey have pledged to boost anti-terror cooperation and work more closely to find solutions to the key regional issues that have tossed the whole Middle East region into turmoil.
The pledge was jointly made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following their two-hour talks in Ankara on Friday.
Erdogan decorated the crown prince with the “Medal of the Republic of Turkey.”
Erdogan said the crown prince has been a real friend of Turkey throughout his life. This medal is one of the highest honors conferred on foreign heads of state, presidents and prime ministers for their contributions in promoting bilateral relations.
Turkish Ambassador Yunus Demirer said: “The whole gamut of bilateral, regional and international issues were discussed by the two leaders.”
The crown prince and the president discussed efforts to combat terrorism, the bloodshed in Syria, intransigence of Iran, the situation in Iraq, strife in Yemen, and the Middle East peace process, besides bilateral cooperation and coordination within the framework of the Saudi-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council.
Demirer said that the talks between the crown prince and top Turkish officials including Erdogan would give new momentum to the efforts being exerted by the two countries to defuse the crisis in the Middle East region.
“Cooperation between two nations on various issues such as regional security, welfare, and stability were also discussed by the crown prince and Erdogan,” said Adel bin Siraj Mirdad, Saudi ambassador to Turkey.
Three ministerial meetings were also organized on the sidelines of the visit of the crown prince. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, minister of finance; Majid Al-Qassabi, minister of commerce and investment; and Adel Al-Toraifi, minister of culture and information, met their respective Turkish counterparts and discussed subjects of common interests. President Erdogan also hosted a lunch banquet in honor of the crown prince.
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