Türkiye, Saudi Arabia resolve transit visa issue after decade-long dispute

Türkiye has secured transit visas for its commercial truck drivers transporting to the broader Gulf region via Saudi Arabia, reopening a vital land trade corridor, after 10 years of diplomatic and logistical roadblocks, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said in a recent statement.

Bolat welcomed the developments as a major breakthrough, speaking at a summit on e-commerce in the artificial intelligence (AI) age held in Istanbul on Friday.

“Türkiye and Saudi Arabia’s relations are excellent, and while there used to be a transit visa issue for the past decade, this has been resolved as of Thursday, enabling Turkish truck drivers to travel in the Gulf via a Saudi transit visa,” he said.

The resolution to the visa issue comes at a key moment for global supply chains amid ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East paralyzing maritime trade.

Bolat stated that overland logistics through Türkiye have become more vital than ever in the current environment, as the country serves as a natural geographic bridge to Eurasia.

He noted that Ankara hopes the 15-day ceasefire in the region will hold and evolve into permanent stability, as the global economy depends on peace to prevent further supply shocks and prolonged price hikes.

Alongside the Saudi transit deal in the logistics agenda, Bolat stated that Türkiye’s domestic e-commerce sector saw a massive surge from making up only 5% of the country’s total trade to 20% in recent data.

The rapid rise in digitalization positioned Turkish firms as attractive targets for international investors looking for a stable center between Western and Chinese markets.

Bolat said the recent high-level meetings in Portugal and Brussels point to the strong and rising confidence in the Turkish economy.

He mentioned that Portugal is actively attracting Turkish contractors to bid on €60 billion ($70.2 billion) infrastructure and public housing projects.

He added that the EU has become increasingly eager to form alliances with Türkiye’s rapidly growing defense industry.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim