ANKARA: Saudi Arabia and Turkey disagree over the implications of the Iran deal announced on Tuesday. Riyadh thinks that the agreement will make the Middle East a “more dangerous part of the world” if it comes with too many concessions.
By contrast, Ankara welcomes the deal, although it called for “brotherly Iran” to abandon sectarian-based policies and instead pursue political dialogue. Turkey’s Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek went so far as to say the deal was “great news” for the Turkish economy, as it would likely boost bilateral trade with neighboring Iran. Despite this difference of opinions, however, economic and defense ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia are blossoming.
On Monday, Turkish Airlines initiated a 7-times-per-week service from Istanbul to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The new route will capitalize on the Arabic Call Center launched by the airline on July 4 to serve customers across the Middle East and North Africa. “The Middle East is one of the most important regions for Turkish Airlines and we have seen total passengers carried increase by 10% in the first quarter of 2015 reaching 1.3 million…” said Adem Ceylan, V.P. of Marketing & Sales for Turkish Airlines in the Middle East & Cyprus.
Turkey’s largest defense firm– signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday with two Saudi firms to boost defense ties. Each of three parties involved has close government ties: Aselsan is owned by the state-controlled Turkish Armed Forces Foundation; King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) is both the Saudi Arabian national science agency and its national laboratories; and TAQNIA Defense and Security Technologies is a subsidiary of the Saudi state development and investment company. “The agreement is a start of an important strategic partnership that will have a positive impact on technology and innovation capabilities in the Kingdom,” said Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammad al-Saud, president of KACST. Under the deal, signed in the presence of Turkey’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the three companies will further increase cooperation in coordination with Turkish and Saudi government agencies.
Most of the news emanating from the Middle East– whether about Iran, the Houthis, or ISIS — is negative from Saudi Arabia’s perspective. But at least the country’s relationship with Turkey is one of the few bright spots.
