As Turkish businesspeople, we believe that it is of utmost importance to continue with our commercial and economic relations smoothly with Saudi Arabia.

We believe that the growth and development of Turkish and Saudi economies, which complement one another, rely on continuing trade between our countries on a win-win basis. Because, we know that trade brings wealth and prosperity to people.

Despite all these, we regret to see that Saudi Arabia is taking an increasingly negative stance against Turkish companies. We learn from the complaints reported by Turkish companies, which are also taken up by the press, that Saudi authorities state that no imports would be made from Turkey. Furthermore, it is stated that many Saudi companies which supply goods from Turkish companies are forced to sign a letter of commitment not to import goods from Turkey.

And recently, global logistics companies have been warning their customers about the obstacles that Turkish companies face in Saudi Arabia, that they should be prepared for long waiting times at Saudi customs for goods arriving from Turkey and that imports from Turkey might even be blocked. Thus, this issue has gone beyond bilateral economic relations and become a problem for global supply chains.

Finally, it has been a massive disappointment for the businesspeople of both countries that the President of the Council of Saudi Chambers Mr. Ajlan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Ajlan tweeted on October 3, 2020 that it is the duty of all Saudi nationals to boycott Turkish products. 

All these negative developments we have pointed out above, are also valid for Turkish contracting companies that have contributed to the Saudi Arabian economy for years and have successfully completed hundreds of important projects in the country so far. Our contractors have not been invited to the important tenders for sometime and they have not been given  any new big projects.

We deeply regret the discriminatory treatment that our companies face in Saudi Arabia.

Any official or unofficial initiative to block trade between the two countries will have negative repercussions on our trade relations and be detrimental to economies and people of both countries.

Decreasing supply from Turkey will lower the business volume and revenues of Saudi companies and will negatively affect the purchasing power of Saudi nationals who prefer Turkish products for their quality and price with confidence. 

In this context, we, the Turkish businesspeople, expect Saudi authorities to take concrete initiatives to resolve the problems in our trade and economic relations.

We are confident that we can surmount any kind of problem with constructive dialogue and cooperation.

M. Rifat HİSARCIKLIOĞLU                 Bendevi PALANDÖKEN                      İsmail GÜLLE                        Nail OLPAK          

TOBB President                                  TESK President                                    TİM President                      DEİK President

Simone KASLOWSKI                          Abdurrahman KAAN                          Mithat YENİGÜN                  Ayşem SARGIN   

TÜSİAD President                               MÜSİAD President                              TMB President                    YASED President