Saudi official calls for boycotting “everything Turkish”

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s head of Chamber of Commerce called today for a boycott of “everything Turkish” including imports, investment, and tourism, saying it is “the responsibility of every Saudi”, local media reported.

The call for a boycott comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that some countries in the Arabian Gulf were targeting Turkey and pursuing policies that destabilized the region.

“It should not be forgotten that the countries in question did not exist yesterday, and probably will not exist tomorrow; however, we will continue to keep our flag flying in this region forever, with the permission of Allah,” said Erdogan on Thursday, addressing Turkey’s General Assembly.

His words sparked backlash, with Saudi Arabia’s Chamber of Commerce head Ajlan Al Ajlan calling for a boycott of Turkish goods.

“Boycotting everything Turkish, whether on the level of import, investment or tourism, is the responsibility of every Saudi - trader and consumer- in response to the continued hostility of the Turkish government against our leadership, our country and our citizens,” said Al Ajlan in a post on Twitter.

If the directive is followed, it would affect thousands of Turkish exporters at a time when the Turkish economy is in tatters.

The Turkish lira has taken a nosedive, descending to a record low on Monday at over 7.7 versus the US dollar.

The lira is one of the world’s worst performing currencies this year, down 22 per cent, according to Reuters.

The impact of the coronavirus combined with a currency crisis that began in 2018 has led to a sharp recession, with gross foreign exchange reserves at the central bank falling by nearly half this year.