Government | Saturday 1 October, 2016 5:17 am |

Saudi Arabia and Turkey inked several agreements during the two-day visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif to Ankara, which concluded on Friday.
The endorsed agreements were mainly in the fields of manpower cooperation, science, culture, cooperation among mass communication channels like radio and television, and a memorandum of understanding in the cultural field.
Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Toraifi and Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mahir Unal signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of culture. The accord makes provision for participation in cultural festivals organized in both countries. In addition, the two parties agreed to host Saudi cultural days in Turkey and Turkish cultural days in the Kingdom.
The two sides also agreed to exchange visits of experts and artists to share common experiences and promote culture between the two countries.
Prior to the signing of the agreement, the crown prince held talks with ministers on matters of bilateral interests and also discussed plans to bolster mutual cultural cooperation.
During a dinner hosted by Turkish Premier Binali Yildirim in honor of the crown prince, Yildrim said on Thursday: “The Kingdom and Turkey are not just brotherly countries, but they are important countries for the security and stability in the region.”
The crown prince said: “Turkey is a brotherly country for us. We always consider seriously that there should be strong and joint work because we actually need each other.”
The envoy said: “On the sidelines of the meeting, three major agreements were signed on Friday,” said. He pointed out that the Kingdom and Turkey inked an accord for implementation of a cultural program. “A media cooperation agreement, primarily involving television and radio channels, was also signed.”
Turkish Ambassador Yunus Demirer told Arab News from Ankara that a major scientific cooperation agreement was signed by the Riyadh-based King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology and the Ankara-based Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.
The two countries, within the framework of this agreement, will encourage mutual cooperation in scientific fields including exchange of scientific and technological information, exchange of visits, and joint research programs.
Also, the royal visit has revived the Saudi-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council, which was established in April with the aim to boost economic relations and commercial exchange between the two countries.