by Burak Akinci
ANKARA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrapped up his three-day tour of Gulf states on Wednesday, during which he sought to expand Türkiye's cooperation with the energy-rich Gulf states and attract foreign investment to bolster Türkiye's ailing economy.
The visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Erdogan's first regional trip since his re-election in May for a third term. Following his electoral success, the Turkish government has intensified efforts to attract Gulf funds to tackle its financial woes.
"The Gulf states are among Türkiye's most important trading partners," Batu Coskun, an independent political affairs analyst, told Xinhua.
He said that Gulf states have been involved in high-profile acquisitions in Türkiye, invested in strategic sectors, and provided Türkiye with hard currency at a time when the Turkish market needed it most.
"We are hoping to improve our relations and cooperation in many fields. We will focus on joint investment and commercial initiatives that will be realized in the upcoming period," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul before leaving.
More than 200 Turkish businessmen have accompanied Erdogan on his Gulf trip, according to the Foreign Economic Relations Board, which has organized business forums in the three countries.
Several deals were signed during Erdogan's trip, including the sale of the AKINCI long-endurance combat unmanned aerial vehicle to Saudi Arabia, the first leg of his tour.
In a tweet, Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the drone manufacturer Baykar, called the deal "the biggest defense and aviation export contract in the history of the Turkish Republic." The value of the deal has not been made public.
"We will see more investment in strategic sectors moving forward -- instead of cash handouts from Gulf capitals. These sectors include aviation and defense," Coskun said.
"We might see more cooperation on co-production and co-investment in the defense industry," the analyst added.
The volume of bilateral trade between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia is growing fast. According to Türkiye's semi-official Anadolu Agency, the Turkish-Saudi trade volume reached 6.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 and is expected to rise in 2023.
Erdogan's Gulf tour came as the Turkish government has ramped up efforts to bring down high inflation, tackle the depreciation of its currency and address its growing current account deficit.
Türkiye's current account deficit widened to nearly 7.93 billion dollars in May. Meanwhile, the cumulative current account deficit for the last 12 months rose to 60 billion dollars, the highest since 2013.
Statistics show that Türkiye's tourism revenues and exports are falling short of covering the bill of imports. Meanwhile, as the value of the lira continues to fall, the cost of imports rises and drives up a high inflation rate that hit 38.2 percent in June.
Despite the fact that Ankara's foreign exchange reserves have increased recently after the new administration adopted more conventional monetary policies, they still need an immediate band-aid, analysts say.
To end its regional isolation, Ankara launched in 2021 diplomatic efforts to repair frayed ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose investments and funding also helped to boost Türkiye's foreign reserves.
