Turkiye Counting on '$50Bln in Investments' From Erdogan's Blitz Persian Gulf Tour

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are the three stopovers on the itinerary of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first post-reelection multinational tour, widely anticipated to yield new deals boosting Turkiye's economic and financial cooperation with the region.

Turkiye is hoping to attract over $50 billion in investments as a result of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the three countries of the Persian Gulf - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, sources were cited by local media as saying.

More than 200 businessmen from Turkiye will reportedly accompany Erdogan on the blitz Persian Gulf tour from July 17 to 19, according to President of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), Nail Olpak.

As part of the tour, it is specified that DEIK will organize business forums in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates with the participation of President Erdogan.

Multibillion-Dollar Deals

The planeload of trade representatives expect to have “very productive meetings” in “three countries in three days,” Olpak was cited as saying, adding that "billions of dollars-worth of cooperation agreements will be negotiated in sectors such as contracting, housing, digital technology, energy, tourism, healthcare, food, agriculture, transportation, finance.”

“Mutual investment will increase significantly in the short term," remarked Olpak.

Direct investments of around $10 billion are expected from the Gulf states shortly after Erdogan's trip, to be followed up by between $25 billion and $30 billion over a longer period of time, unnamed senior Turkish officials were cited as saying.

Erdogan recently told his own press that the three countries on his itinerary had "already expressed that they were ready to make serious investments in Turkiye during my previous contacts. I hope we will finalize these during this visit."

Amid the struggle with high inflation that Turkiye has been waging for a number of years, and with the lira remaining under pressure after plunging to record lows earlier in the year, the oil-rich Gulf states are seen as vitally important for helping shore up the Turkish economy.

On the eve of the presidential election in Turkiye, which Erdogan won in May, the lira swooped to a low of 20 against the dollar amid an assault on the local currency. "Irked" by the independent foreign policy of the Turkish authorities headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, major Western players had reportedly carried out targeted manipulations on the financial market, coupled with deliberately spread rumors about the weakening of the lira. Since Erdogan's reelection, Turkiye's newly appointed Finance and Treasury Minister Mehmet Simsek vowed to bring macro-financial stability to the country's economy and reduce inflation during his tenure. Simsek held talks in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE over the past weeks, paving the way for Erdogan's foray to these country's capitals.