Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman arrived in Ankara on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024, and met with his Turkish counterpart, followed by a closed-door meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to Turkey's Anadolu Agency, President Erdogan held a private meeting with the Saudi Defense Minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler in attendance.

Following the meeting, Prince Khalid bin Salman tweeted that he had met with President Erdogan, at the direction of the Saudi leadership, to discuss bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them. They also discussed regional and international developments and efforts towards them.

In another tweet, the Saudi Defense Minister stated that he had met with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, to discuss Saudi-Turkish relations and ways to further enhance and develop cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries, as well as efforts to achieve peace and security in the region and the world.

Commenting on the visit, Saudi writer and politician, Suleiman Al-Aqeel, a member of the board of directors of the Saudi Society for Political Sciences, tweeted that he expects Saudi-Turkish military cooperation to extend to military production and manufacturing following the meeting between Prince Khalid bin Salman and President Erdogan.

In recent times, relations between the two countries have grown, with Saudi and Turkish companies signing agreements and memorandums of understanding in the field of defense industries in Riyadh last August, aiming to localize the production of drones and their components in Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

The series of agreements and memorandums of understanding signed between Saudi and Turkish companies followed a cooperation agreement signed by Baykar with the Saudi Ministry of Defense during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Saudi Arabia last July.

The signing ceremony was attended by high-level Saudi officials, the head of the Turkish Presidential Defense Industries Advisory, Huluk Gorgun, Baykar General Manager Haluk Bayraktar, Aselsan General Manager Ahmet Ak Yul, and Roketsan General Manager Murat Ikinci, all companies specializing in defense industries.

Baykar, specializing in drone production, signed an agreement with the Saudi Military Industries Company for local production and technology transfer. Aselsan and Roketsan also signed memorandums of understanding with the Saudi Mechanical Systems Company to localize technology, according to the Saudi newspaper.