The visit began with a welcome ceremony and will be followed by a one-on-one meeting between the crown prince Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The trip comes as the West and wider Middle East try to repair relations with the oil-rich kingdom, in a bid to alleviate financial strains caused by the Pandemic and sky-high energy prices sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In April, Erdogan met the crown prince in the Saudi city of Jeddah, a visit that ended the years-long diplomatic standoff between the two countries.
The crown prince, known as MBS, is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. A wave of crackdowns on Saudi dissidents culminated in Khashoggi's murder by a 15-man hit squad, strained relations between Riyadh and multiple Western states and Turkey.
According to Turkish official sources, a Saudi forensic expert armed with a bone saw dismembered Khashoggi's body after he was killed in the Istanbul consulate in October 2018. MBS denied involvement in the murder, which captured international headlines with lurid details of the killing. Erdogan spoke strongly against the murder, launched a probe into the killing and broke down diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Turkish President has to change his tack due to a plummeting Turkish lira and an inflation of more than 70%. For months Ankara has made overtures to Riyadh and Saudi's closest Gulf ally, Abu Dhabi to mend relations, including ending Khashoggi's murder trial in April and transferring the case to Riyadh. Rights groups have condemned the move, arguing it would kill off the case. Hatice Cengiz, the outspoken advocate for justice for the slain Saudi critic, said her legal team would appeal the decision. Cengiz tweeted on Wednesday that Biden's meeting with Saudi officials will include crown prince The fact that he came to our country does not change the fact that he is responsible for murder. During his US presidential campaign, Joe Biden pledged to turn MBS into a pariah over his rights record. As President, Biden has declined to communicate directly with the powerful prince, instead he has chosen to speak to his official counterpart - King Salman. In recent weeks, soaring fuel prices sparked a U-turn in Biden's Saudi policy. Biden canceled his first official visit to the kingdom in July because of tight diplomatic relations, which reduced US leverage in pushing Riyadh to pump more oil, until Biden ramped up diplomatic efforts and scheduled a first official visit to the kingdom. He is expected to meet MBS during the visit.