ANKARA: Turkiye and Saudi Arabia plan to sign an agreement to scrap visa requirements for some of their citizens during talks between their foreign ministers in Ankara on Wednesday, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday.
Relations between Ankara and Riyadh were badly damaged after the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, after Turkiye accused senior Saudi officials of orchestrating the killing. The two sides have taken steps since 2020 to repair ties.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, are due to chair a meeting of the Turkiye Saudi Coordination Council, during which the accord is expected to be signed for holders of special and diplomatic passports, the source said.
The source said Fidan would reiterate Turkiye’s push for “regional ownership” in addressing Middle East issues and stress that Ankara would continue to contribute constructively to efforts to end the war in Iran.
