Türkiye’s developing relations with Gulf countries and the normalization process in diplomatic ties have opened a new door for the Turkish construction sector and will further contribute to its growth in the region, according to a sector representative.
Turkish Contractors Association (TMB) head Erdal Eren said that the association will also be represented at the vice-presidential level in the Federation of Contractors of Islamic Countries (FOCIC).
Stating that Gulf countries have hope for the industry for the next year within the scope of the current political and diplomatic relations with Türkiye, Eren told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Saudi Arabia in particular, which plans to implement a new project worth $3.3 trillion in the next 10 years, "is a candidate to increase the international project volume of the (Turkish) industry."
"Our companies started to enter Saudi Arabian market in 2018 where Türkiye experienced some difficulties, but the improvement in diplomatic relations paved the way for a large market for Turkish contractors," he said.
Pointing out that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Saudi Arabia and the subsequent visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Türkiye are the first steps of a new era in the relations between the two brotherly countries, Eren said, "In June, Saudi Arabian Minister of Trade Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, in his meeting with Turkish business people in our country, expressed that the relations between the two countries will be better in the coming period than before 2018."
Pointing out that as the TMB, they have begun some initiatives with the strength of their international representation capabilities, Eren said: "Most recently, at the FOCIC General Assembly, our TMB board member Tevfik Öz was elected as the vice president of the federation to represent our union."
FOCIC is an affiliate of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), "of which we are a member, and also operates in close cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank," Eren said.
"We will work on benefiting from Islamic Development Bank funds while bringing together contractors from member countries of the OIC that can pave the way for partnerships in countries that are extremely important for our sector," he said, citing Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as examples.
He added that the election of the president of the Saudi Arabian Contractors Association, Zakariye Al-Abdulqader, as the chairperson of FOCIC will also provide an opportunity for TMB to work more closely as the representative organizations of the two countries.
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are striving to increase political, military and economic relations in all respects to start a new era.
Over the past year, Ankara has embarked on a diplomatic push to reset relations with regional powers such as Israel, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia after years of antagonism. Erdoğan repeatedly said that Türkiye hopes to maximize its cooperation with Israel, Egypt and Gulf nations "on a win-win basis," at a time when Ankara intensified diplomacy to mend its fraught ties with these regional powers after years of tensions.