Saudi Arabia has signed two acquisition contracts for Turkiye's Bayraktar drones, in a new step in relations between Ankara and Riyadh.
In a statement by Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister, Khalid bin Salman, today, he announced that "Two acquisition contracts were signed between the Saudi Defence Ministry and Baykar, under which the Defence Ministry will acquire drones, with the aim of enhancing the readiness of the Kingdom's armed forces and bolstering its defence and manufacturing capabilities."
The CEO of Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar, confirmed on Twitter that the Saudis had signed the deal to import the company's medium-altitude long-endurance Akinci drone, as well as a cooperation agreement. He called it "the biggest defence and aviation export contract in the history of the Republic of Turkiye".
In its own statement, Baykar said that "With the comprehensive agreement, cooperation will be made on technology transfer and joint production in order to advance the high technology development capability of the two countries in the upcoming period."
READ: Did Turkey bow down to Saudi Arabia?
Technology cooperation between Turkiye and Saudi Arabia may also extend to the Kingdom's Vision 2030, with Ankara reportedly aiming to win development and infrastructure contracts for Turkish companies within that scheme.
The deals were signed during the visit of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to Saudi Arabia as part of his regional tour to the Gulf, reportedly aimed at attracting investment to replenish Turkiye's foreign reserves. According to media outlets, Erdogan stated yesterday that "The number of projects undertaken by our contractors in Saudi Arabia in the last 20 years is approximately $25bn."
During his visit, the Turkish President also gifted Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a model of Turkiye's first domestically-produced electric car named "Togg". The visit resulted in additional deals in communication, energy cooperation, defence and a joint agreement to promote direct investments.
Erdogan gifts Turkey's first domestically produced electric car 'Togg' to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) July 18, 2023
READ: Turkiye plans to build 1,000 EV stations by 2023-end
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