RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have signed an energy agreement aimed at boosting cooperation in oil and gas production during a high-level meeting. The Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the gathering, which came as the Turkish leader undertakes a three-state Gulf tour. A memorandum of understanding was signed by Saudi Minister of Enregy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and his counterpart from Turkiye Alparslan Bayrakdar. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the MoU covers the production, marketing, distribution and trade of refined petroleum products, as well as the production of petrochemicals. It also takes in cooperation in the field of renewable energy and electricity, as well as the exploration of investment opportunities between the two countries in that field. There was also an agreement over investigating electrical interconnection between the Kingdom and Turkiye. The SPA report added: “The memorandum also included strengthening cooperation in the field of hydrogen, through research and development to enhance its use, as well as cooperation in the field of the circular carbon economy, through exchanging knowledge about applications related to it, and cooperation in the field of energy supply chains, by encouraging bilateral investments, and working to access materials.” The MoU is the latest sign of the growing relationship between Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, and comes as both countries try to promote links across their respective public and private sectors. Trade between Turkiye and the Kingdom reached $6.5 billion in 2022, and hit $3.4 billion in the first half of this year. Turkiye’s trade with all the Gulf states has shot up from $1.6 billion to about $22 billion in the past 20 years. On Monday, more than 400 business leaders and officials attended a special meeting of the Saudi-Turkish Business Forum in Jeddah in a further boost to economic ties between the two countries. Amid discussions around further investment opportunities, a number of agreements were signed covering manufacturing, tourism, mining, food and agriculture, as well as defense and military industries. There were also deals covering energy, education, and digital technology, as well as agreements focused on media, construction, health and real estate.