“We have recently made significant progress in our relations with the Gulf countries, with which we have deep-rooted historical and brotherly ties. After the earthquake disaster on February 6, we received all sorts of support, both financial and moral, from our brothers and sisters there. On behalf of my country and nation, I would like to thank our brothers and sisters once again,” President Erdoğan said. “OUR BILATERAL TRADE VOLUME WITH THE GULF COUNTRIES HAS INCREASED TO APPROXIMATELY $22 BILLION IN THE PAST 20 YEARS” “We continue our efforts in line with our goal to establish a belt of peace, stability and prosperity around Türkiye,” President Erdoğan said. “The most important step to this end is to strengthen our relations with the countries in the region. We see 2023 as an opportunity in this regard. This year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. As you know, our diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia were established in 1929. We want to extend the solid foundations of our relations to an even wider area of cooperation.” “Our primary agenda during our visits will be the joint investment and trade activities we will carry out with these countries in the coming period,” President Erdoğan said. “We will assess what we can do with a win-win approach. Our bilateral trade volume with the Gulf countries has increased from $1.6 billion to approximately $22 billion in the past 20 years.” “In the business forums to be held, we will look for ways to further increase this figure,” President Erdoğan said. “Especially the crises in the Islamic world necessitate close consultation and cooperation between Türkiye and the Gulf countries. During our visits, we will have the opportunity to discuss at length how we can help our brotherly countries.” “Saudi Arabia, one of the most important countries in our region, has a special place in areas such as trade, investments and contracting services. The value of the projects undertaken by our contractors in Saudi Arabia in the past 20 years is approximately $25 billion. We would like Turkish companies to play a greater role in Saudi Arabia's large-scale projects,” President Erdoğan said. Stating that this year, after the COVID-19 outbreak, Hajj can be performed again without any restrictions, President Erdoğan stated that 88 thousand pilgrims were able to go on Hajj this year, according to the latest figure he received from the President of Religious Affairs. President Erdoğan also thanked the Saudi Arabian authorities for the additional quota they have provided for Turkish earthquake victims to perform hajj. “ON THE OCCASION OF OUR VISIT, WE WILL EXCHANGE VIEWS ON OUR BILATERAL RELATIONS AS WELL AS CURRENT REGIONAL ISSUES” “After Jeddah, we will visit our strategic partner and close ally Qatar, our friend and brother. Our relations with Qatar are excellent at all levels. On the occasion of our visit, we will exchange views on our bilateral relations as well as current regional issues. The last stop of our Gulf tour will be the United Arab Emirates, with whom our relations are developing in every field. The United Arab Emirates is the country with whom we recently trade the most in the Gulf region. We want to increase this figure to a level befitting the true potential of our two countries,” President Erdoğan said. “On the occasion of these visits, we will also present our electric car TOGG, Türkiye's pride, to our interlocutors as a gift,” President Erdoğan said. “Following our contacts in Abu Dhabi, we will go to Lefkoşa to attend the July 20 Peace and Freedom Day ceremonies to be held on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. On the occasion of my visit, we will meet with President Ersin Tatar and discuss the steps to be taken to further strengthen Türkiye-TRNC relations. We will also inaugurate the new terminal and runway of Ercan Airport,” President Erdoğan said. “MORE THAN 33 MILLION TONS OF GRAIN PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN SHIPPED” Highlighting Türkiye’s efforts to prevent further destruction, tears and tragedies in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, President Erdoğan said: “From day one, we have been saying that ‘war has no winners and peace has no losers.’ The Black Sea Initiative, which is about to enter its first year, is a project that proves that humanitarian considerations triumph over conflict dynamics.” Praising the Initiative as a historic diplomatic achievement, President Erdoğan said: “Thanks to the Initiative, more than 33 million tons of grain products have been shipped to world markets. This prevented many low-income countries from being plunged into a food crisis. We have expressed on various occasions the importance we attach to the continuation of the Black Sea Initiative. To this end, as you know, we have intensified our diplomatic efforts in recent days. I would like to thank all the relevant parties who have contributed to bringing the Initiative to this point. Despite today’s statement, I believe that my friend, President Putin of the Russian Federation, wants the continuation of this humanitarian bridge. In the meantime, our Foreign Minister will hold talks with his counterpart. As soon as we return from our trip, I will also hold talks with Mr. Putin. When we meet with him in our country in August, we will have a chance to discuss all these issues. We will also discuss how we can act to pave the way for the shipment of Russia's own grain and fertilizer.” President Erdoğan answered reporters’ questions following his remarks. Stating that that there were two main topics on the agenda of the Gulf visit, President Erdoğan continued as follows: "One is the investment dimension, the other is the financial dimension, and we have high hopes for both of them.” Underlining the possibility of mutual investments, President Erdoğan said: “In the defense industry, as well as infrastructure and superstructure investments, Türkiye will hopefully have a serious investment opportunity in these three countries. I see this in these visits. In addition, these countries will also have the opportunity to purchase certain assets in Türkiye.” In response to a question about whether the quadripartite summits between Türkiye, Syria, Russia and Iran can resume after Syria's return to the Arab League, President Erdoğan noted that Türkiye has not closed the door to Syria, and said: “The door is open. As far as the quadripartite summits are concerned, they can be held. We are not closed to talks with Bashar al-Assad, we can meet him. How they approach us, that's the question. Unfortunately, Assad wants Türkiye out of northern Syria. That's not possible, because we are fighting against terror there. How can we get out of there when there are terrorists on our borders. Türkiye is under constant threat from there. Can he ask the same of other countries? No. So we expect a fair approach. If we see this fair attitude, we can overcome all this."