RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said on Monday it was putting $5 billion into Turkey’s central bank, a potentially major boost as the country grapples with inflation and damage from last month’s earthquake ahead of a presidential election.
Saudi Tourism Minister and Saudi Fund for Development Chairman Ahmed Al-Khatib signed an agreement with Turkish Central Bank Governor Sahep Kavashi Oglu “to raise a significant sum of $5 billion,” the Saudi government said in a statement. have done
“This deposit is a testament to the close cooperation and historic ties between Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Turkey and its brotherly peoples,” the statement said.
It said the decision, which will boost Turkey’s foreign reserves and help it deal with inflation, was ordered by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The move dealt a blow to relations between Riyadh and Ankara following the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Istanbul consulate.
Saudi agents killed and dismembered Khashoggi, whose remains have never been found.
Turkey angered Saudi Arabia by following the case closely at the time, launching an investigation and releasing gruesome details of the murder to the international media.
US intelligence officials believe the operation was “sanctioned” by Prince Mohammed, although Saudi officials deny this.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously said the highest levels of the Saudi government ordered the killing, although he never blamed Prince Mohammed.
Erdogan has worked hard to restore bilateral ties, a move analysts say is motivated largely by economic considerations.
Last April, he made his first visit to Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi’s murder, where he met with Prince Mohammed before traveling to Mecca.
Prince Mohammed visited Ankara in June.
Turkey was already reeling from skyrocketing inflation and a weakening currency before last month’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked the country and parts of Syria, killing more than 50,000 people.
With the election just a few months away, Erdogan now faces economic losses of more than $34 billion, according to World Bank estimates.
