Turkish President Abdullah Gul has lauded the efforts exerted by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to remove the mistrust among Palestinian factions and forge unity among them. Addressing the Shoura (Consultative) Council, President Gul referred to the Palestinian reconciliation conference held in Makkah convened at the initiative of King Abdullah to unify the Palestinian ranks. “If the promises that were made in that holy place honored, the Palestinians would have ironed out their differences and unified their ranks,” Gul said. Islam advocates moderation, tolerance and flexibility. It is a religion of coherence and it has nothing to do with terrorism, he said. Dr. Saleh Bin Humeid, Shoura Council Chairman, said special relations exist between the Kingdom and Turkey at bilateral, regional and Islamic arenas. The Saudi-Turkish diplomatic relations date back to 1929, following the signing of the friendship and cooperation agreement between the two countries, he said. He drew attention to the joint history that links the two countries and said Islam has linked the two countries with the strongest and the most fruitful relations. He called for developing bilateral relations, taking into account the requirements of the contemporary time. Dr. Bin Humeid noted that the significant role played by the visits of King Abdullah to Turkey in 2006 and 2007, adding that the current visit of President Gul to the Kingdom will be more fruitful as regards cementing fraternal relations between the two countries. Tourism statistics, he said, indicate that the number of Saudi tourists visiting Turkey is more than 70,000 per year and that Saudi Arabia hosts 100,000 highly qualified Turkish citizens, who are participating in the development of the country and its reconstruction.
