27.06.2026 11:51
Speaking at the 33rd General Assembly of TIM and the Export Champions Award Ceremony, President Erdoğan said, 'As you know, we had previously increased the daily limit of rediscount loans, which was 300 million lira, to 4.5 billion lira. This time, with an additional 500 million lira, we are raising this figure to 5 billion lira. In other words, we have increased the daily limit of rediscount loans, which was 300 million lira three years ago, by approximately 17 times to 5 billion lira. I wish it to be auspicious for our entire export family.'
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the 33rd General Assembly of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and the Export Champions Award Ceremony held at the Haliç Congress Center.
Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements:
"Dear esteemed members of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, valuable guests, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you with my most sincere feelings, respect, and affection. I wish the 33rd General Assembly of our Turkish Exporters Assembly to be auspicious for our country, our economy, and our exporters. I congratulate our companies and sector-leading businesspeople who will receive awards as export champions.
Only those who bear the burden know how every penny of the figures we will present shortly was earned and what difficult struggles were fought. As your brother who comes from a trade background, I know very well that these achievements are not obtained easily; they require determination, patience, effort, skill, and resolve.
"TURKEY'S YEAR-ON-YEAR INCREASING SUCCESS GRAPH IS EVIDENT"
Especially today, export is beyond an activity that merely consists of buying goods and selling them elsewhere. You shoulder our country's burden, sometimes as an exporter, sometimes as a goodwill ambassador, and sometimes as pioneers striving to overcome the obstacles placed before Turkey. On this occasion, I thank the President of TİM, the board members, and all my brothers who have served under the roof of TİM until today. I have always stood by our exporters, whom I see as my companions on the path, cause, and destiny, and I will continue to stand by you from now on.
The aim of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, which brings together 27 sectors, 61 exporters' unions, and over 140,000 exporters in our country, is to achieve the goal of a Turkey with a foreign trade surplus. In every product bearing the Turkish seal, from the remotest corners of the world to the most competitive markets, there is the sweat, dynamism, and global vision of this vast family.
Turkey's year-on-year increasing success graph is evident. Everyone who follows the world and has an open horizon and eyes can see where Turkey has come from despite various difficulties. Amidst conjunctural tensions, we achieved a growth of 3.6 percent in 2025 and 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2026, extending our uninterrupted growth performance to 23 quarters.
"OUR GOODS AND SERVICES EXPORT BROKE THE RECORD OF OUR REPUBLICAN HISTORY"
Our successes in exports, carried out with the motto of leaving no customs gate where our flag does not wave in global markets, have now become a source of national motivation. In 2025, our goods and services export broke the record of our republican history at $395.9 billion. Our goods export, which was only $36 billion in 2002, rose to $273.3 billion as of 2025.
Our services export, on the other hand, increased from $14 billion in 2002 to $122.6 billion last year. Our share in global goods exports reached 1.04 percent from 0.055 percent, and our share in services exports reached 1.28 percent from 0.089 percent.
"THE MOMENTUM WE GAINED CONTINUES IN 2026"
The momentum we gained in exports, thank God, continues in 2026 from where it left off. In May, there was a temporary slowdown in our foreign trade data due to the holiday effect. But on May 22, we reached the highest value of all time with daily exports of $2.4 billion. Of course, the increase in Turkey's exports shows great development not only in quantity but also in quality. Our export of medium-high and high technology products, which was $10 billion in 2002, rose to $112 billion in 2025. Our annualized export of medium-high and high technology manufacturing industry products reached $114.4 billion.
"DEFENSE AND AVIATION EXPORTS REALIZED AT $3 BILLION 863 MILLION"
I particularly want to draw your attention to these figures. According to the latest data, defense and aviation exports increased by 29 percent in the January-May period, realizing at $3 billion 863 million. Thus, there was a 29.5 percent increase in our defense exports in the first 5 months of the year. From an annual defense industry export of $248 million, we have reached a level where we now export $992 million per month in the same sector. In other words, thank God, we now make in one week what we used to export in one year. These figures occurred as a result of Turkey's orientation towards technology-intensive products, and we aim to increase this share further.
"IN THE JANUARY-MAY PERIOD, 21 OF OUR PROVINCES EXPORTED OVER $1 BILLION"
Another item on our agenda is to spread our exports across the country. Thank God, we have made significant progress in this as well. In the January-May period, 21 of our provinces exported over $1 billion. Our efforts continue to make more of our provinces stakeholders in exports. I wish everyone to know this: despite all the troubles, conflicts, and crises around it, there are few examples in the world that can compare to our country's rapid rise in exports. Of course, we will not stop here; we will not be satisfied with the current situation.
"WE AIM TO REACH OUR EXPORTS TO DISTANT COUNTRIES AT $50 BILLION"
By expanding our export network, which is concentrated in nearby geographies, towards more distant geographies, developing new opportunities to meet the new needs of our exporters, and establishing new mechanisms to provide financing suitable for the pace and needs of our increasing exports, we will carry this success story even further.
God willing, we will achieve this together with you, just as we have for 23 years. We do our part so that ships departing from our ports, trucks crossing our borders, and cargo planes carrying products produced in Turkey work for our businesspeople. For our exporters, we sometimes accelerated our own bureaucracy, and at other times, we removed obstacles by negotiating with other countries. Whenever I meet with a state or government leader, the demands of our exporters and investors are always at the top of my notes.
I definitely put the issue on the table with my counterpart and assign my colleagues to ensure that the will for resolution reflects on trade routes. Later, I follow up on these tasks very strictly. Since other country leaders know our stance, they have opened their doors to our businesspeople and embraced the Turkish business community. From free trade agreements to preferential trade agreements, from mutual promotion of investments to prevention of double taxation, we have established and continue to establish all kinds of legal infrastructure that will encourage you. "
We aim to increase our exports, especially to distant countries, to $50 billion by 2028. We are working to raise the share of Islamic Cooperation Organization member countries, which hold serious potential, to 30% of our total exports.
"WE INCREASED EXIMBANK'S CAPITAL FROM 13.8 BILLION LIRAS TO 100 BILLION LIRAS"
On the other hand, we are constantly accelerating our customs processes by utilizing all the possibilities of digitalization to facilitate transportation. Additionally, we are taking important steps to diversify financing instruments and increase their accessibility. Through Turkish Eximbank, the Turkish Trade Bank, and the Export Development Joint Stock Company, we provide uninterrupted support to broaden our export range.
We increased Eximbank's capital from 13.8 billion liras to 100 billion liras. The bank's credit and insurance support reached $26 billion in the first five months of this year, a 31% increase. Hopefully, by the end of the year, our bank will break a record with $60 billion in support. Meanwhile, the Turkish Trade Bank, which recently started its operations, provided 76.3 billion liras in financial support to our exporters in 2025. The Export Development Joint Stock Company, as of the end of 2025, provided 200 billion liras in guarantees for 228 billion liras in loans to our exporters.
The rediscount loans provided by our Central Bank amounted to 1 trillion 300 billion liras in the last year. On the other hand, we are aware of the difficulties experienced due to the negative atmosphere in global markets, especially the European market. In particular, to help you overcome these challenges, we offer foreign exchange conversion support to our exporters and support their production and competitive power.
"WE ARE INCREASING THE DAILY LIMIT OF REDISCOUNT LOANS TO 5 BILLION LIRAS"
I would like to share some good news with you on this occasion. As you know, we previously raised the daily limit of rediscount loans, which was 300 million liras, to 4.5 billion liras. This time, with an additional 500 million liras, we are increasing this figure to 5 billion liras. In other words, we have increased the daily limit of rediscount loans, which was 300 million liras three years ago, approximately 17-fold to 5 billion liras. I wish it to be beneficial for our entire export family.
"TURKEY IS NOT THE INWARD-LOOKING TURKEY OF THE PAST"
Dear friends, all kinds of political, economic, and social tensions in our region naturally affect us and will continue to do so. However, Turkey is not the inward-looking Turkey of the past. There is now a Turkey that is integrated with the world in every field, has gained the ability to establish relations on an equal footing, and is respected by great powers. We are entering a period where we will act with an approach that turns every encounter with global crises into political and economic gains, moving forward with our exporters towards new opportunities and new continents.
By joining hands, the state and the private sector will hopefully raise our country's export framework to much higher levels in this new era. I pray that God makes our path and fortune bright. With these feelings, I once again hope that the general assembly of the Turkish Exporters Assembly brings good fortune, and I congratulate again our companies and businesspeople who have been deemed worthy of the Export Champions Award. I extend my love and respect to all of you, stay healthy. "