Turkish President visits Shoura Council

Riyadh, February 04, SPA -- Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited
here today the Shoura (consultative) Council where he was welcomed by
Dr Salih bin Humeid, the Council's Chairman.


Welcoming President Gul, Dr.Bin Humeid said the Shoura Council is
accustomed to host a number of leaders of countries, adding that
their speeches at the Shoura Council have had a positive impact on
cementing the relations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with their
countries.


Dr Bin Humeid underlined the importance of the visit of the Turkish
President to the Kingdom and said special relations exist between the
Kingdom and Turkey either at the bilateral or regional and Islamic
arenas.


The Saudi-Turkish diplomatic relations dates back to 1929, following
the signing of the friendship and cooperation agreement between the
two countries, he said.


He drew attention to the joint history that links the two countries
and said Islam has linked the two countries with the strongest and
the most fruitful relations.


He called for developing bilateral relations, taking into account
the requirements of the contemporary time.


Dr.Bin Humeid noted that the significant role played by the visits
of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
to Turkey in 2006 and 2007, adding that the current visit of
President Gul to the Kingdom will be more fruitful as regards
cementing fraternal relations between the two countries.


If the Kingdom has earned an importance due to its religious status
and its political and economic weight, and also due its policy which
is based on reason and objectiveness as well as on justice and
righteousness, Turkey has earned similar importance due to its strong
international relations and its balanced policy, he said, adding that
it will enable the two countries to play a distinguished role in the
region.

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