ISTANBUL: Saudi Arabia will help Turkiye build solar plants capable of powering more than two million homes, under a deal the two countries signed on Friday that aims to deepen energy cooperation between the key regional players.

The signing ceremony at an Ottoman-era palace by the waters of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul followed a $2-billion inter-governmental energy agreement between the two countries during a landmark visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Riyadh on Feb 3.

Turkiye is preparing to host the United Nations COP31 climate summit on its Mediterranean coast later this year, with Australia leading the negotiations. Ties between Turkiye and Saudi Arabia have steadily improved in recent years after collapsing in the wake of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in Oct 2018.

The two countries now cooperate on a range of diplomatic issues, including support for Gaza and backing Syria’s new government following the ouster of president Bashar al Assad in 2024.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2026