Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the biggest defense contract in Turkey’s history on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia agreed to purchase Turkish drones.
The signing ceremony took place in Jeddah, with President Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman present, as reported by Saudi state news agency SPA.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman announced that the drones would enhance the kingdom’s armed forces’ readiness and bolster defense and manufacturing capabilities in a tweet on Tuesday.
With the support of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, I signed today a defense cooperation plan with HE Ya?ar Güler, the Turkish National Defense Minister, in line with the military and defense cooperation efforts between our two friendly countries. pic.twitter.com/BAuETGR8m6
— Khalid bin Salman ???? ?? ????? (@kbsalsaud) July 18, 2023
While many specifics of the deal remain undisclosed, the CEO of Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar did confirm that it’s Turkey’s largest defense and aviation export contract.
Bayraktar told Defense News, “What I can say is that it represents the biggest deal signed with Saudi Arabia in Turkish defense history in a single contract.”
However, he declined to talk about the price of the contract and the number of drones purchased.
He also took to Twitter and stated, “We signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian defense ministry for the Bayraktar Akinci export and cooperation.”
Suudi Arabistan Savunma Bakanl??? (@modgovksa) ile Bayraktar #AKINCI T?HA ihracat? ve i? birli?i sözle?mesi imzalad?k.
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti tarihinin en büyük savunma ve havac?l?k ihracat? sözle?mesi hay?rl? ve u?urlu olsun. ????#MilliTeknolojiHamlesi ??? https://t.co/Y3JwhZV826 pic.twitter.com/iCfehdIHs6
— Haluk Bayraktar (@haluk) July 18, 2023
This drone deal marks a noteworthy advancement in relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.