Turkish-Saudi Investment and Business Forum | Imtilak Group is present with its relevant companies

The Turkish-Saudi Investment and Business Forum kicked off in Istanbul on Friday, February 16, with broad participation from officials of both countries and businesspeople.

Leading the Saudi side were: Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb, in addition to a large number of economic officials and prominent Saudi investors.

On the Turkish side, the main participants in the forum were: Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, President of Defense Industries Haluk Gorgun, along with a number of Turkish officials and businesspeople.

Speeches from both sides expressed hopes and relentless efforts for joint cooperation, heralding a new period of growth in relations in all fields, with discussions on ways to benefit from investment and tourism opportunities in pursuit of the visions of both countries: (Century of Turkey) and (Saudi Vision 2030).

Great opportunities for joint investment in all fields

Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih emphasized in his speech that there are many areas of cooperation that can be developed with Turkey, that Turkey is one of the best food suppliers for Saudi Arabia, and that Turkish contracting companies are among the best in the world.

He continued: "Saudi Arabia will take serious steps to make investments within the framework of Vision 2030. We are talking about investment opportunities worth about 1.8 trillion dollars with global companies, and I hope that Turkish companies will be the biggest beneficiaries of these investment fields."

Al-Falih praised the strategically important Saudi-Turkish relations and the vital role that Saudi and Turkish private sector companies can play in strengthening economic and trade relations between the two countries, saying: "Just a few years ago, there were only 20 to 30 Turkish companies operating in Saudi Arabia, while last year their number reached nearly 400 registered Turkish companies in Saudi Arabia."

In a speech delivered by Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb, he spoke about the serious steps Saudi Arabia will take regarding infrastructure and urban expansion within its vision for 2030.

He added: "Saudi Arabia will ask Turkish friends for help in the fields of defense, construction, contracting, tourism, and industry within the framework of Vision 2030... We are in Turkey (today) to evaluate the available opportunities in these fields and to prepare our infrastructure to strengthen our bilateral relations."

For his part, Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek spoke about Turkey's readiness to work with Saudi Arabia in tourism, construction, and defense industries, as well as its readiness to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in projects in Africa.

He said: "Turkey can help Saudi Arabia achieve its ambitious tourism goals and contribute to building and operating related facilities, as well as facilitating the transfer of tourists through Turkish tour operator services. Our tour operators can benefit and profit from taking tourists to Saudi Arabia, just as they bring tourists to Turkey in the summer... Our tourism seasons do not overlap; the Saudi tourism season is in winter, while Turkey's tourism season is generally in summer and autumn."

Simsek added: "We also aim to grow Turkey's service exports, which have reached more than $100 billion," noting the strong support for service exports, as Turkey offers up to an 80 percent basic reduction in service fees and taxes.

Simsek also touched on the possibility of cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia in several fields such as tourism, contracting, defense industries, and aviation.

Joint cooperation and anticipated growth plans

In a speech delivered by Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, he spoke about the contribution of Turkish contractors in implementing 402 projects in Saudi Arabia worth $27.6 billion, and that the trade volume between Turkey and Saudi Arabia reached $6.8 billion in 2023. Turkey's vision to increase this number to more than $10 billion in the short term is considered a realistic goal, and both countries aim in the medium term to reach $30 billion in mutual trade.

He also discussed the ongoing and close communication and cooperation between the Turkish Presidential Investment Office and the Saudi Investment Fund, which will provide significant economic benefits to companies operating between the two countries.

Yilmaz added that chemicals, machinery, food and beverage processing, automobiles, aviation, military technology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, renewable energy, and building materials are all sectors that attract the interest of Saudi investors.

He continued: "Our vision for (Century of Turkey) and (Saudi Vision 2030) will bring great economic benefits to both countries and the entire region. We want our companies to play an active role in major Saudi projects, such as: NEOM Project, Diriyah Gate, Qiddiya, and Red Sea Projects."

Turkey is our second home..

The forum was not without words expressing the sincerity of feelings between the officials of the two countries, in an important message that clarifies the desire to increase economic and investment cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said: "Our citizens consider Turkey their second home... and we see Turkey as indeed our second home and homeland."

This is an important gesture to the commonalities between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to the extent that Saudi citizens consider Turkey their second home. They invest in buying homes and real estate in Turkey and live there, and the coming period will witness more steps to deepen economic and investment cooperation between the two countries and further strengthen these relations.

Imtilak and Oragon at the forefront of participants ...

On the sidelines of the Turkish-Saudi Investment and Business Forum meetings, Imtilak had the opportunity to meet with Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and introduce him to the activities of the Imtilak Group.

His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih with Mr. Ali Al-Hamad, Director of Public Relations at Imtilak Investment Group

Imtilak was present at the Turkish-Saudi Investment Forum through the participation of its affiliated companies:

1. Imtilak Real Estate Company, specialized in investment and freehold property ownership services, which is expanding its activities in several regional countries.
2. Oragon Joint Stock Company for managing real estate portfolios and investment project capital portfolios.

Oragon is a portfolio management company licensed by the Turkish Capital Markets Board to establish real estate investment funds since 2018. In 2023, the ability to establish and manage investment project capital portfolios was added to its licensed business activities. Currently, Oragon has 3 real estate investment funds and one investment project capital fund.

Edited by: Imtilak Real Estate©