Turkey, Saudi Arabia sign combat drone deal

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey on Tuesday signed five deals with Saudi Arabia in different sectors, including a defense cooperation deal that will see Riyadh purchase combat drones from Ankara, the Turkish presidency announced.

The deals come as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan embarked on a Gulf tour where he met with the leaders of Saudi Arabia. He is also scheduled to meet the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. 

On Monday, Erdogan was received by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Jeddah. 

The Turkish presidency announced that an agreement was struck between the Turkish and Saudi defense ministries as well as the drone manufacturing firm Baykar. 

Baykar is a Turkish company specializing in combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and co-run by a son-in-law of Erdogan. It is well-known for manufacturing the Bayraktar drones, which has been sold to more than 28 countries.

The drones were used in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict in 2020 on the side of Baku, as well as by Ukraine in its ongoing defense against Russia. 

Other deals were signed in the sectors of communications, defense, economy, and energy. Ankara agreed to cooperate with Riyadh over encouraging direct Saudi investment in Turkey. 

Erdogan’s Gulf tour is aimed at securing investment deals in his country, with the president seeking a quick solution for Ankara’s bleeding economy. 

On Monday, the Turkish lira recorded an all-time low against foreign currency, as Erdogan said that Gulf leaders promised him in previous meetings to make significant investments in Turkey. 

Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat last week said that the UAE is expected to make investments of up to $30 billion in multiple sectors in the country such as food, logistics, pharmaceuticals, and medicine.