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Türkiye and Saudi Arabia stepped up discussions on restoring regional transport links, including a potential railway connection through the historic Hejaz corridor and the development of a fiber-optic connectivity route, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Tuesday.
The minister held talks in Riyadh with Saudi officials on railway, logistics and telecommunications projects, signing two cooperation agreements aimed at expanding transport and logistics ties between the countries.
Uraloglu met Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser to discuss ways to strengthen regional connectivity and expand trade routes linking Türkiye with Gulf countries.
During the talks, Uraloglu stressed the importance of establishing a direct railway connection between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, describing it as a critical step toward deeper transport integration.
The proposal is part of broader regional efforts to revive sections of the historic Hejaz Railway and reconnect rail networks stretching from Türkiye through Syria and Jordan to the Arabian Peninsula.
The minister also pointed to growing interest in transport corridors passing through Syria, Jordan and Iraq, noting that two trial freight operations from Türkiye to Saudi Arabia via Iraq had demonstrated the route's viability.
"Before 2012, annual reciprocal transport operations between our countries reached 20,000. Although we remain below that level today due to regional developments, our goal is to take cooperation beyond those figures," Uraloglu said.
He added that recent developments in the region had underscored the importance of uninterrupted road networks, while transit transportation between the two countries provides access to both Europe and the Gulf.
Uraloglu also called for closer coordination among regional countries to establish a roadmap for future transport projects and highlighted potential cooperation in high-speed rail systems and railway vehicles.
Following the talks, Türkiye's Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure signed a memorandum of understanding on railway cooperation with Saudi Arabia's Transport General Authority.
A separate memorandum on logistics services was also signed with the Saudi Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services to advance the planned extension of the proposed modern Hejaz Railway into Saudi Arabia's existing railway network.
Saudi officials previously said feasibility studies for the project are expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with the route potentially linking Riyadh and the western cities of Makkah and Madinah to Istanbul.
The logistics agreement aims to support cooperation in the construction, operation and management of logistics centers, as well as experience-sharing and joint activities.
The railway agreement covers technical standards, railway technologies, innovation, signaling and communication systems, digitalization, environmental sustainability, railway engineering, infrastructure development, safety systems, research activities and information exchange.
The framework also includes cooperation between training academies, temporary expert exchanges, regulatory practices and initiatives related to railway industry localization.
Separately, Uraloglu met Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha to discuss telecommunications infrastructure and emerging technologies. The talks focused on fiber-optic infrastructure, the digitalization of transport corridors, satellite communications and space technologies.
"From fiber-optic infrastructure to the digitalization of transport corridors, and from satellite communications to space technologies, we discussed areas of joint cooperation," Uraloglu said.
He added that stronger cooperation in technology would help shape the future of bilateral relations as digital transformation accelerates across transport and communications sectors.
The discussions came after a Gulf-backed consortium unveiled the $700 million WorldLink project in February, a fiber-optic route connecting the United Arab Emirates to Türkiye via Iraq, while Saudi Arabia and Syria separately announced the SilkLink network aimed at turning Syria into a regional data transit hub between Asia and Europe.
As part of his Riyadh visit, Uraloglu also received briefings on ongoing works at King Khalid International Airport and inspected three cable-stayed bridges being built under the Laban Valley Bridge Project.
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