Turkey's President receives Saudi Shoura Council's Speaker

Ankara, June 19, SPA -- President of the Republic of Turkey Abdullah
Gul received here today the Speaker of the Shoura Council of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al
Al-Sheikh and the accompanying delegation, currently on an official
visit to Turkey.

During the meeting, President Gul expressed happiness for the
growing levels of cooperation and coordination between the
Governments and peoples of both countries and between Turkey's
National Assembly and Saudi Arabia's Shoura Council.
The Turkish President pointed to the two historical visits
paid by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud to the Republic of Turkey, and the boost the
Saudi-Turkish relations garnered from it, noting that the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia has a special status to the Turkish people because of
its prestige in the Muslim world as home of the two holy mosques.
We do appreciate the Kingdom's efforts in serving and rehabilitating
the two holy mosques and providing complete comfort, security and
safety for all pilgrims, the Turkish president said.
President Gul underscored the importance of consultation and
cooperation between the two counties at all levels for the interest
and stability of the Middle East, calling for benefiting from the
current positive climates to find a solution to the Palestinian
issue.
He also highlighted the importance of the visit of the delegation of
the Saudi Shoura Council and its role in the development of bilateral
relations between the two countries.
For his part, Dr. Al Al-Sheikh conveyed the greetings of the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and
Inspector General and the Saudi people to the president, Government
and people of Turkey. During the meeting, a number of issues
of common interest to both countries were also discussed.
The meeting was attended by a number of senior officials on the
Turkish side as well as Al Al-Sheik's accompanying official
delegation on the Saudi side.
--SPA