Turkey and Saudi Arabia: From bitter rivals to strategic partners

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have gone from rivals to close partners, and Middle East Eye traces the shift back to a public reconciliation. Ties hit a low point after journalist Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which Turkish prosecutors linked to Saudi agents, but the countries patched things up in 2022 when Mohammed bin Salman visited Ankara for the first time since the killing. As Middle East Eye reports, that thaw has since grown into deals on defense, technology and renewable energy. This week, Erdogan and the crown prince prayed together in Mecca as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defense agreement, bringing the three countries under a single security framework for the first time.

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