The Turkey Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT) will act as a contact and reference point for Turkish and Saudi groups involved in investment promotion. ISPAT president Alpaslan Korkmaz said that the office would play an important role in promoting Turkey’s investment opportunities to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf region.

To date, Saudis have invested very little in Turkey, but Turkish officials expressed hope that trade volumes could reach $10bn per year. Conversely, there is already a substantial amount of Turkish investment into Saudi Arabia, as Mr Korkmaz said Turkish contracting firms had already completed projects worth $7bn.