Saudi Aramco calls on Turkish contractors for $50bn in potential projects
Officials from Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco this week met with dozens of Turkish contractors to discuss $50 billion worth of potential projects in the kingdom, in the latest sign of rapprochement between the two nations five years after the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Erdal Eren, head of the Turkish Contractors Association, said the Saudi officials met with “executives from about 80 building companies” in Ankara on 30 and 31 May to “pre-qualify them for projects planned through 2025.”
“Aramco wants to see as many Turkish contractors as possible in its projects,” Eren told the US news outlet. “They are planning refinery, pipeline, management buildings and other infrastructure construction that will be worth $50 billion in investment.”
The Turkish business leader added that Aramco – currently the world’s second-largest company in terms of market value – would soon “draw up a list of contractors that can participate in tenders for the projects” and that a second meeting will take place in the kingdom.
Riyadh and Ankara officially buried the hatchet over the Khashoggi murder last June when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered a royal welcome to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).
Relations between Turkiye and Saudi Arabia turned frosty in 2018 after a team of assassins linked to MbS tortured and dismembered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.
However, a severe economic slump created by Erdogan’s unorthodox economic policies allowed the Turkish leader to downgrade the Saudi murder case.
Last year, a Turkish court ruled to transfer the case of the 26 Saudi suspects implicated in the murder of Khashoggi to Riyadh, opening the door for reconciliation.
Since the two countries restored ties, Saudi Arabia has pumped several billion into the Turkish central bank via the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
Ahead of Turkiye’s recent runoff elections, Erdogan revealed that Gulf states sent funding to Ankara as “aid” to relieve pressure on the central bank and markets.
Erdogan did not name the specific countries that sent assistance or the amount.