RIYADH: A Turkish firm will provide drones to Saudi Arabia, Riyadh said on Tuesday following a visit by Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that aims to attract foreign investment.
Several contracts, including the drone deal with the privately-owned Baykar, were signed during a meeting between Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Red Sea port of Jeddah on Monday.
Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the drone manufacturer which is co-run by one of Erdogan's sons-in-laws, in a tweet called the deal "the biggest defence and aviation export contract in the history of the Turkish Republic".
The value of the deal has not been made public.
Erdogan was in Saudi Arabia to kick off a Gulf tour seeking to drum up support for Türkiye's faltering economy.
After attending a Saudi-Turkish business forum in Jeddah on Monday, Erdogan and Prince Mohammed discussed "prospects for joint cooperation" in their meeting, SPA reported.
The two leaders signed cooperation agreements in the fields of energy, direct investment, defence and media, the report said.
It added that Saudi officials also signed "two contracts with the Turkish company Baykar".
Drones developed by Baykar have been used in Azerbaijan, Libya and Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia "will acquire drones with the aim of enhancing the readiness of the kingdom's armed forces and bolstering its defence and manufacturing capabilities", Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Tuesday.
He did not specify the type of drone the kingdom is looking to procure.
An Arab diplomat in Riyadh, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the press, said it was Baykar's TB2 model.
Last month, Kuwait said it struck a $367-million agreement to procure TB2 drones.
This week's visit is Erdogan's second to Saudi Arabia since a recent rapprochement between Ankara and Riyadh.
With ties on the mend, Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia in April 2022, and Prince Mohammed travelled to Türkiye in June last year.
Erdogan's current Gulf trip comes as Türkiye battles a currency collapse and soaring inflation that has battered its economy.
In March, Saudi Arabia deposited $5 billion in Türkiye's central bank.
The two countries also inked several memorandums of understanding in sectors including energy, real estate and direct investments.
Last month, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek travelled to the UAE to discuss "economic cooperation opportunities" with counterparts. — Agencies
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