Fact checkBusinessPublished May 3, 2026
Turkish Minute: “Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed a roughly $2 billion agreement on 20 February in Istanbul to build two solar plants, and the AKP government has sent a bill to parliament to approve it.”. Our verdict: Mostly True.

The claim

“Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed a roughly $2 billion agreement on 20 February in Istanbul to build two solar plants, and the AKP government has sent a bill to parliament to approve it.”

Turkish MinuteNews reportMay 2, 2026Read the original

Report on a government bill seeking parliamentary approval of the Turkey-Saudi solar agreement.

Our verdict

Mostly True

The $2bn deal and the bill are confirmed; the ministers signed the agreement in Riyadh on 3 February and held a further signing ceremony in Istanbul on a Friday in February.

What we found

Energy ministers signed the intergovernmental agreement in Riyadh on 3 February 2026; a separate ceremony with ACWA Power was held in Istanbul on a Friday, consistent with 20 February. In May the government sent parliament a bill to approve the deal for two 1,000MW plants in Sivas and Karaman. The substance is right; 'signed on 20 February in Istanbul' describes only the second ceremony.

The evidence

2 of 3 sources support the claim; none contradict it.

Contradict 0Support 2Background 1
  • Supports the claim

    The bill sent to parliament would let ACWA Power build two large solar plants. [1]

  • Background

    Türkiye and Saudi Arabia signed a USD 2 billion renewable energy agreement in Riyadh. [2]

  • Supports the claim

    Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed a major solar deal at a ceremony in Istanbul. [3]

How we checked

We checked the claim against Invest in Türkiye, Turkish Minute, eNCA (AFP). We reviewed 3 relevant sources.

Sources

  1. [1]Turkish Minute · Saudi energy company to build 2 large solar plants in Turkey under bill sent to parliament
  2. [2]Invest in Türkiye · Türkiye and Saudi Arabia sign USD 2 billion renewable energy investment agreement
  3. [3]eNCA (AFP) · Turkey, Saudi sign major solar power deal

Have evidence we missed?

If you know of a source that confirms or contradicts this claim, send us the link. We review every submission and update fact checks when new evidence changes the picture.

Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.

All fact checks