Erdogan begins visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia on Thursday, the Turkish presidency announced.

Erdogan will hold talks as part of his two-day visit, the Turkish presidential Liaison Service said in a statement.

During the talks, the two sides will review all aspects of bilateral relations and discuss opportunities for developing cooperation, the statement said.

They will also exchange views on regional and international issues, according to the statement carried by the official Turkish News Agency.

Over the past weeks, the Turkish president has stressed his country’s desire to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia.

On February 22, Erdogan said in a press statement: “We want to strengthen our relations with Saudi Arabia as well, and we want to push forward our positive dialog with Saudi Arabia with concrete steps in the coming period”.

He went on: “We continue our positive dialog with Saudi Arabia. We want to continue through concrete steps in the coming period. We want to develop the process in a positive direction”.

Over the past months, Turkey has tried to repair its strained relations with countries in the region.

Erdogan visited the United Arab Emirates last February in what was described as a “historic” visit.