Ankara backs Riyadh on JASTA, offers cooperation for Vision 2030’s success

A top Turkish official lambasted the United States here Wednesday for enacting the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), that allows litigious lawyers and relatives of the victims of Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.
Lutfi Elvan, Turkish minister of development, said Ankara “stands strongly behind the Kingdom on the issue of JASTA.” Elvan termed JASTA as the “wrong decision,” which has stirred a wave of international condemnation.
Elvan, in an interview with Arab News here at the Conference Palace, gave an overview of the growing Saudi-Turkish relations following his wide-ranging talks with Adel Fakeih, minister of economy and planning, and Majid Al-Qassabi, minister of trade and investment.
Elvan, who left for Jeddah Wednesday evening for talks with officials of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said “the Saudi government will send a delegation to Turkey to hold consultations and to form a joint working group…” He added that the working group would be entrusted with the task of preparing a road map for cooperation.
In the interview, Elvan described the talks with top Saudi officials as “comprehensive and productive,” and said the two sides discussed bilateral relations as well as global and regional issues of mutual interest.
He invited Saudi businessmen “to make investments jointly with their Turkish counterparts in both countries.”
He also lent his support to Vision 2030, saying that Ankara has a lot to offer to Saudi Arabia in terms of exports, skills and partnerships.
Turkey has been among the top countries in which the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, have made investments worth $16.9 billion.
Elvan also called on Saudi public and private sector agencies to derive benefits from the world-class Turkish companies currently operating in the Kingdom.
He expressed his disappointment over a few instances in which “Turkish companies were excluded from bidding projects, while the European firms were welcomed.”
Asked about the adverse impact of the failed coup on Turkish economy, Elvan said: “It has had limited effect.” Explaining the strong state of the Turkish economy, he said: “It will grow at 3.2 percent this year ... We are targeting 4.4 percent economic growth in 2017, while our total dollar deposits in the banks currently exceed $11 billion.”
Referring to the Turkish position on Syria and Iraq, Elvan said that the foreign policies of the Kingdom and Turkey on a host of regional and international issues of common concern are identical.
The minister said that Turkey is closely working with Saudi Arabia and other countries to restore peace and security in the region, especially in Syria and Iraq. He also renewed his call to the UN to “categorize the PKK and its Syrian affiliate the PYD as terrorist groups.”

Source: Arab News