A vigorous Saudi campaign to boycott Turkish products
A strong Saudi campaign boycotting Turkish products affected Turkey, which is seen in the region as a destabilizing and meddling power.
The head of the Saudi Chamber of Commerce, Ajlan Al Ajlan, called earlier this month, for boycotting everything Turkish including imports, investment, and tourism.
According to the Saudi news portal Sabq, the Arabic hashtag Boycott the Turkish products has extended to collect 28,000 followers, which provoking many traders of clothes to the Saudi market to transfer their operations outside Turkey.
Indeed, Media personality Abdullah Al Bander said in a tweet, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The Saudi people have taught Erdogan a harsh lesson worth billions of dollars by boycotting the Turkish products.
In fact, the boycott demand came after that Erdogan alleged that certain countries in the Arabian Gulf were targeting Turkey and implementing destabilizing policies.
Sabq reported that last year, the value of the construction projects realized by Turkish contractors in Saudi Arabia decreased to $559 million, in comparison to $3 billion in 2018. It also added, citing the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, that during the first nine months of this year, the number has decreased to $21 million.
In the same context, and according to figures from the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, the value of Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia declined from $12.7 billion in 2015 to $9.4 billion last year.
Otherwise, in recent months, Turkey has been widely criticized for its military involvement in Syria, Libya and Iraq, and following destabilizing actions in East Mediterranean.
