Jan 4, 2021: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he would visit Saudi Arabia next month.

Turkey’s relations with Ankara have been strained in recent years. Asked about resolving export issues to Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said he would visit the Gulf state in February. “They are expecting me in February, they have promised and I will visit Saudi Arabia in February,” he said in an anonymous video posted on social media.

Exports to Saudi Arabia have fallen in recent years due to strained relations between the two countries. Turkey is now working to improve relations with regional powers, including the United Arab Emirates, as its economy suffers from a currency crash and rising inflation. The Saudi government’s media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Erdogan requested a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Qatar last month. No meeting was held at the time, but people familiar with the plan said a meeting could be held soon.

Saudi Arabia imposed an unofficial boycott on Turkish imports in 2020, as political tensions erupted over the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashkji, a critic of the Crown Prince, and trade between the two regional powers erupted. Following the assassination of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by Saudi agents in October 2018, Erdogan said the order came from the “highest level” of the Saudi government, although he did not name Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader.

A US intelligence review released in February found that the Crown Prince had approved the assassination – a charge Saudi Arabia denies.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been working to improve relations in recent months after years of rivalry over regional issues.

Turkey’s total exports increased by 32.9% in 2021, while the trade deficit narrowed to $45.9 billion, the data showed on Monday.

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