15.04.2025 12:50
The Minister of Trade, Ömer Bolat, will make an official visit to Damascus tomorrow to discuss trade, customs, transportation, investment, and energy topics between Turkey and Syria with the heads of business umbrella organizations.
Comprehensive trade and investment talks between Turkey and Syria are starting. For this purpose, a large team is departing from Ankara to Damascus, led by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat. Businesspeople, chamber and union presidents will also be present during Bolat's visit on April 16-17.
During the visit, it is planned to discuss strengthening cooperation in Syria's economic development in the new process, improving communication and relations between the economic actors of the two countries, and increasing inter-institutional coordination in preparations for the construction of a free Syria.
MAJOR PROJECTS WILL BE DISCUSSED
During the visit, various topics including trade, customs, transportation, investment, finance and banking, contracting, and energy will be addressed, and Bolat will hold bilateral and inter-delegation meetings with his counterparts. As part of the visit, Bolat will have bilateral and inter-delegation meetings with Syrian Minister of Economy Nidal Shaar, Syrian Minister of Finance Muhammad Yusr Berniyye, Syrian Minister of Transportation Yarub Bedir, and the Director General of Syrian Land and Sea Ports Administration Kuteybe Ahmed Bedevi.
BOLAT WILL HOLD BILATERAL MEETINGS
During the visit, where the heads of umbrella organizations of the Turkish business world will meet with Syrian businesspeople, a "Business Forum" and "Round Table Meetings" will also be held to evaluate new business opportunities.
In the meeting between Minister Bolat and Syrian Minister of Economy Shaar, the roadmap for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which will accelerate economic and trade relations between the two countries, will be discussed.
In the meeting with Berniyye, topics such as Turkey's contributions to strengthening the institutional infrastructure of the Syrian economy, cooperation in lifting sanctions against the country, developing the banking infrastructure, and the reconstruction of Syria will be on the agenda.
INCREASING TRADE THROUGH CUSTOMS GATES WILL BE DISCUSSED
In the meeting with Syrian Minister of Transportation Bedir, the possibilities of strengthening transportation relations between Turkey and the mentioned country, further strengthening logistics ties, and the partnerships that the two countries can establish in transportation projects that will contribute to regional development will be addressed in all dimensions. The development and modernization of customs gates between Turkey and Syria, areas where the private sector's additional expectations regarding current customs duties will strengthen cooperation in customs, will be evaluated in the meeting with Kuteybe Ahmed Bedevi. Bolat's visit to Damascus will play an important and decisive role in determining the dynamics of economic and trade relations between Turkey and Syria.
DENSE TRADE DIPLOMACY
After the fall of the Baath regime in Syria on December 8, an intense trade diplomacy was conducted with the new administration. In this context, the Ministry of Trade reopened the Yayladağı Customs Gate, which had been closed for years, for passage on December 9, 2024, while as of January 1, the management of the customs administrations on the Syrian side was handed over to the new Syrian interim government. Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu and his accompanying delegation also went to Damascus on January 23 to hold a series of contacts with their Syrian counterparts. This led to a reduction in taxes on some products. On February 8, restrictions on customs services provided in trade between Turkey and Syria during the previous regime were lifted. Finally, Turkey appointed representatives from the Ministry by increasing the staff of the Damascus Trade Attaché and the Aleppo Trade Attaché to four.