JEDDAH (Al Jazeera) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince to “develop” relations in his first visit since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi drove a wedge between the two countries.
Saudi state news agency SPA published images of the Turkish leader embracing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the de facto ruler who U.S. intelligence officials determined approved the plot against Khashoggi.
The warm embrace between Erdogan and MBS appears to signal that the previous cold relationship between the two countries is now over.
The pair “reviewed the Saudi-Turkish relations and ways to develop them in all fields,” SPA reported.
Pictures published by Turkish state media also showed a separate sit-down with King Salman, the crown prince’s father.
Erdogan arrived at the palace of the Saudi king in the southern city of Jeddah on Thursday to discuss further development of bilateral relations in various fields.
“We are striving to increase all kinds of political, military, and economic relations between us and to start a new era,” the Turkish president said in a post on Twitter.
The trip came as Turkey, facing an economic crisis fuelled by the collapse of its currency and soaring inflation, tries to drum up financial support from energy-rich Persian Gulf countries.
Saudi agents killed and dismembered Khashoggi, an insider turned critic, in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018. His remains have never been found.
The gruesome act risked isolating Saudi Arabia, and especially Prince Mohammed, while escalating Riyadh’s regional rivalry with Ankara.
Turkey infuriated the Saudis by pressing ahead with an investigation into the murder of the Washington Post columnist, which Erdogan said was ordered at the “highest levels” of the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia responded by unofficially putting pressure on Turkey’s economy through a boycott of key Turkish imports.

Pakistan PM on Maiden Visit

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, is also visiting Saudi Arabia this week in a bid to strengthen ties with the kingdom and possibly gain more financial support, in what is his first foreign trip since assuming office earlier this month.
Landing in the Islamic holy city of Madinah on Thursday, where he and his delegation were welcomed by regional officials, Sharif stated on Twitter that “Today I am embarking on a visit to Saudi Arabia to renew & reaffirm our bonds of brotherhood and friendship”.
The itinerary of the prime minister’s visit was not revealed, but he was expected to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque in the holy city, and a statement by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry clarified that the visit will last until Saturday. According to the statement, talks between officials and the leadership of both countries are expected to focus “on advancing economic, trade and investment ties and creation of greater opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia”.
There are also predictions that Islamabad may seek financial aid from Riyadh by requesting additional deposits in Pakistan’s Central Bank due to the intense pressure on its external account.
Upon his landing in Madinah and his passing through the Prophet’s Mosque, however, Sharif and his delegation were heckled and bombarded with chants of “thieves” and “beggars” by crowds of Pakistanis who oppose his premiership and his ousting of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was forced to step down after a no-confidence vote earlier this month.