[ad_1]
Leading Turkish businessmen said the Saudi authorities have stepped up their efforts to block Turkish imports, warning that global supply chains are being affected by the Riyadh move.
In a statement released on Saturday, the heads of Turkey’s eight largest business groups cited complaints from Saudi companies that authorities forced them to sign letters pledging not to import Turkish products and complained about the exclusion of Turkish contractors from major companies. tenders.
They also referred to the warning issued last month by the chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers, Ajlan Al-Ajlan, about the possibility of supply disruptions, and to Al-Ajlan’s tweet on October 3 urging a boycott of imports of Turkey.
“This issue has transcended bilateral economic relations and has become a problem for global supply chains,” said the joint statement signed by industry leaders, exporters, contractors and unions.
He added that “any official or informal initiative to obstruct trade between the two countries will have negative repercussions on our trade relations and will damage the economies and peoples of the two countries.”
Turkey has not ruled out an appeal to the World Trade Organization.
Saudi Arabia is the country’s 15th export market, whose sales, led by carpets, textiles, chemicals, grains, furniture and steel, amounted to $ 1.91 billion in the first eight months of the year. This represents a 17% decrease from 2019.
Turkish exporters see the political conflict between Turkey and Saudi Arabia as damaging to trade.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been strained a few years ago due to foreign policy and attitudes towards Islamist political groups. In addition to the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, which caused an escalation of tension.
The Khashoggi incident plunged Saudi Arabia into one of its worst diplomatic crises and negatively affected the image of the crown prince, whom Turkish and US officials said gave the assassination orders.
The dispute between the two countries centers on the resistance of the Saudi monarchy to the political groups of Islam, while these groups receive the support of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
