Turkey woos Saudi Arabia

Officials in Ankara and Riyadh have been working on a rapprochement for months. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( When Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by his own country’s agents in Istanbul three years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to revel in the bad publicity it created for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, with his aides disclosing gory details to a shocked world. Now, with inflation above 60% and finances shaky a year ahead of elections, Erdogan’s making an unprecedented bid to mend ties and lure investment from the world’s biggest oil exporter. Turkish officials say he’s visiting Saudi Arabia today and will meet with Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Key reading: - [Erdogan Visits Saudi Arabia After Transferring Khashoggi Case]( - [Turkey Transfers Khashoggi Case to Saudi Arabia to Improve Ties]( - [Erdogan Accuses Businessman Kavala of Acting as ‘Turkey’s Soros’]( - [Erdogan Faces New Challenge From Anti-Immigration Firebrand]( - [Saudi Arabia Denies Reports Relations With U.S. Are Strained]( Flush with cash from buoyant oil prices, the prince is in less of a hurry. His government has engaged with Erdogan’s but has yet to confirm the visit, or summit, which coincides with the arrival of Pakistan’s new premier. Saudi Arabia was once a key market for Turkish exports, which reached $3.2 billion in value in 2019 before an unofficial boycott gutted trade. Boosting manufacturers and exporters is a vital component of Erdogan’s new economic vision, which seeks to leverage the lira’s weakness to generate dollar earnings and reduce Turkey’s reliance on global money flows. Turkey’s also looking to replicate with Saudi Arabia’s mighty sovereign wealth fund the type of deals it struck with another Gulf energy exporter it reconciled with last year. The UAE has outlined plans for a $10 billion investment fund, while a $4.9 billion currency swap in January helped stabilize the lira. Officials in Ankara and Riyadh have been working on a rapprochement, part of a regional realignment begun when U.S. President Joe Biden took office. Turkey smoothed the way this month by ending its trial over Khashoggi’s killing, but the Saudi crown prince might need more convincing. While Saudi Arabia pledged $4.2 billion to Pakistan as recently as October, Turkey’s still waiting. — [Lin Noueihed]( Jamal Khashoggi. Photographer: Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images Sign up [here]( for the Special Daily Brief: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images. Global Headlines Gaining force | Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine is picking up pace and there’s intense fire along the entire line of contact, the Ukrainian General Staff said. Biden plans to speak on further U.S. [support]( for Ukraine as his administration looks to send a proposal to Congress for weapons and humanitarian aid that would last through September. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is in Ukraine today, two days after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. - Several European Union nations are pushing for clearer [guidance]( from the bloc on Russia’s demand to pay for gas in rubles, saying the current advice is too ambiguous. - Italian energy giant Eni is preparing to open ruble [accounts]( at Gazprombank, a precautionary move allowing it potentially to comply with Russian demands as it seeks clarity from the government and EU authorities. - The U.S. has lifted some restrictions on sharing [intelligence]( with Ukraine as it confronts the renewed Russian assault in the country’s east and south. Tough measures | Cities across China are instituting mass-testing drives and [lockdowns]( for just a handful of Covid-19 cases to keep flareups at bay and avoid the economic and social hardship endured by Shanghai. The hard-line responses reflect the growing stakes for local governments in wrestling with the highly infectious omicron strain before it takes hold. - Chinese President Xi Jinping isn’t facing a [challenge]( to his rule from a public that’s increasingly frustrated at Covid controls, though his reputation is taking a hit, Taiwan’s spy agency said in a report. China’s State Council pledged to promote the growth of internet firms and give cash handouts to poor people who have lost their jobs. The decision comes as the country’s worst Covid wave in two years and lockdowns of key cities have [disrupted]( economic activity, pushing the jobless rate up to 5.8% in March, the highest level since May 2020. Nuclear missions | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said there’s “a second mission” for his atomic [arsenal]( in a speech at a military parade, signaling that he may be lowering his threshold for a nuclear strike. The shift raises the risk of nuclear miscalculation and comes as he rolls out new weapons designed to evade missile shields and threaten the U.S. and its allies. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Putin Is Losing So He’ll Make the War Worse: Andreas Kluth]( - [Ukraine Is a Wake-Up Call in Faraway Japan: Gearoid Reidy]( - [China’s Xi May Soon Learn You Can’t Eat Statistics: Shuli Ren]( Hunger crisis | The Biden administration is drawing on [emergency]( funding powers not used since 2014 as part of a U.S. effort to provide $670 million in food aid to six countries at risk of hunger: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen. Russia’s war in Ukraine is holding up grain shipments relied on by developing nations, threatening to throw an additional 40 million people into poverty, according to U.S. estimates. - Indonesia’s ban on palm oil exports kicked off today in one of the most drastic cases of food [protectionism]( since the war erupted. Villagers in a withered corn field in Kilifi County, Kenya, on March 23. Photographer: Dong Jianghui/Xinhua News Agency Explainers you can use - [How LGBTQ Life in China Has Gotten Tougher Under Xi]( - [What Russia’s War in Ukraine Means for Efforts to Cut Emissions]( - [Flood Risks Rise for the World’s Fast-Sinking Coastal Cities]( Legal reform | Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is weighing the political costs of [replacing]( India’s religion-based marriage and inheritance laws with a uniform civil code ahead of national elections in 2024. A reform risks alienating a broad spectrum of voters because of the perceived clash with their fundamental right to practice their faith. Bloomberg reporters around the world discuss a key political issue in our weekly Twitter Space. This week we focused on Europe’s unity in the shadow of war, Russia’s threats to cut off gas flows, and what we might expect from Emmanuel Macron’s second term. You can listen [here](. 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In recent weeks the South Asian nation has run out of cash to pay for essential goods like food and fuel, leading to daily 13-hour power cuts. Protesters have camped outside his office for weeks to demand his resignation. A protest at the entrance of the president’s office in Colombo on April 10. Photographer: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022