Trade Minister Ömer Bolat: Negotiations for the update of the Customs Union Agreement have begun.

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Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat attended the General Council Meeting of the World Chambers Federation held in Istanbul. Speaking at the meeting, Minister Bolat stated that the Customs Union Agreement would be updated and mentioned Turkey's growth and export figures. Emphasizing that there are well-established economic relations with the EU thanks to the Customs Union Agreement, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat said, "We know that the EU has a 41% share in Turkey's exports. We hope to revise and update the current Customs Union Agreement in the upcoming period. Very recently, about three months ago, high-level dialogue and consultation meetings began in Brussels. Turkey has connected the Silk Road to Europe for centuries. Now, thanks to the Zangezur Corridor, we want to achieve the same through the Belt and Road Initiative via Azerbaijan and Armenia," he said.

"TURKEY IS AN IMPORTANT ACTOR IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY"

Emphasizing that there are well-established economic relations with the EU thanks to the Customs Union Agreement, Minister Bolat said, "We know that the EU has a 41% share in Turkey's exports. We hope to revise and update the current Customs Union Agreement in the upcoming period. Very recently, about three months ago, high-level dialogue and consultation meetings began in Brussels. Turkey has connected the Silk Road to Europe for centuries. Now, thanks to the Zangezur Corridor, we want to achieve the same through the Belt and Road Initiative via Azerbaijan and Armenia. From a logistics perspective, Turkey is truly a unique trade habitat. Mediterranean countries, Africa, and Arab countries are connected to the Atlantic through the Istanbul and Çanakkale Straits, as well as through Gibraltar. Similarly, the Suez Canal also facilitates this. Turkey has a value of 1.2 trillion dollars in terms of GDP in this region. With a foreign trade volume of 600 billion dollars, Turkey is an important actor in the global economy. It is also a significant player in global trade. Exports account for exactly 50% of Turkey's GDP," he stated.

"THE NUMBERS REGARDING THE ECONOMY SHOW TURKEY'S STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE"

Minister Bolat continued his remarks: "Turkey is reaping the fruits of the efforts implemented under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the seeds sown are now sprouting. We are continuously growing and positioning ourselves alongside the global actors of the world. Recent figures regarding Turkey's economic outlook clearly demonstrate Turkey's strength and resilience. For instance, the average annual growth rate is 5.4% from 2003 to 2023. During this period, per capita income has nearly doubled. GDP has increased ninefold in dollar terms during this period. Despite these adversities, the Turkish economy has continued to grow and achieved significant success, ranking among the fastest-growing countries. Turkey set a record last year with approximately 255 billion dollars in goods exports. It increased its share in global goods trade. It also reached 106 billion dollars in service exports. In the first nine months of this year, there was a 3.2% increase in goods exports and a 7% increase in service exports. Our foreign trade deficit has also continued to decrease, dropping by 33% in the first nine months. The current account deficit has decreased from 55.5 billion dollars to 11.3 billion dollars in 15 months," he said.

"WE AIM TO INCREASE OUR SHARE OF INTERNATIONAL DIRECT INVESTMENTS TO 1.5%"

Emphasizing that the current account deficit fell rapidly to 9.7 billion dollars in the first eight months, Minister Bolat stated, "These are truly significant figures in terms of foreign trade. In August, the current account showed a surplus of 4.3 billion dollars. It has shown a surplus for three consecutive months. As a result of all these positive developments, our international reserves have also started to increase rapidly. Our reserves reached 156.5 billion dollars from 98.5 billion dollars. Our net reserves increased from minus 65 billion dollars to plus 34.6 billion dollars. I am stating this excluding swaps. When swaps are included, the increase in net reserves corresponds to 56 billion dollars. Since 2003, more than 269 billion dollars in direct investments have come in, and we aim to increase our share of global international direct investments to 1.5%. The volume of projects undertaken by the Turkish contracting sector abroad has reached 514 billion dollars. This figure means that our contractors have won 12,300 projects in international tenders. These projects are in 143 different countries," he expressed.

"TURKEY'S GDP SHOULD REACH 1.7 TRILLION DOLLARS BY 2027"

Minister Bolat reported that Turkey has had a bright period in tourism with 56 billion dollars in revenue, stating, "This year, we are targeting 60 million tourists and 60 billion dollars in revenue. Turkey ranked 5th in Europe and 15th in the world in logistics services. We want to capture a larger share of this market. Our country is making significant strides in the industrial sector. We have excelled in textiles, defense, ready-to-wear, automotive, ceramics, construction materials, and aviation, with Turkey's star shining in the automotive and defense industries. We are following a very ambitious program. We call this 'stable stabilization' in the economy. A growth model led by stable growth, low inflation, and exports. We refer to this as the Medium-Term Program. We started last year and will complete the next three years by following this program. Our goal is to increase Turkey's GDP to 1.7 trillion dollars by 2027 and achieve an average growth rate of 4%. We are targeting 320 billion dollars in goods exports and 160 billion dollars in service exports," he said.