WE PLAN TO BUILD UPON OUR BUSINESS DIPLOMACY ACTIVITIES

Our country’s rapidly advancing political relations with the Gulf Region have also had a positive impact on our trade relations

The Middle East and the Gulf Region represent a challenging geography due to various factors, yet they also hold a special significance for our country. Lately, our country’s rapidly advancing political relations with the Gulf Region have also had a positive impact on our trade relations. In this context, we have organized numerous events with the participation of high-level state officials in our region, which has experienced a highly active year. Gulf countries support localization in industry. In this regard, the region provides investment opportunities for Turkish companies across various sectors, including tourism, information technologies, financial services, agriculture, animal husbandry, and public services.

The swiftly growing investment requirements of countries, coupled with advancements in our political relations, are having a positive impact on our “Business Diplomacy” activities. In the first 9 months of 2023, Türkiye’s exports to the Middle East and Gulf countries surged by 24.8 percent, reaching 24.7 billion USD. Following the political initiatives implemented by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the region has experienced heightened activity. In the first 9 months of 2023, our exports to Saudi Arabia increased by an impressive 180 percent compared to the same period last year. As part of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Gulf visit, we organized Business Forums in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

These forums, held in Jeddah, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, witnessed the participation of Heads of State, Ministers, and 200 Turkish business representatives under the auspices of DEİK, along with delegates from the business communities of the four nations. The events marked the initiation of a new phase in trade relations, marked by the signing of 27 agreements encompassing mutual investments, sectoral cooperation, and joint investments in third countries.

In Saudi Arabia, over the past 12 months, we have organized 4 business forums and 4 roundtable meetings. We note that Turkish companies are actively involved in the “Saudi 2030” vision, contributing to major projects across various sectors such as construction, contracting, digital technologies, food, and technical consultancy. We anticipate that their presence in the country will keep expanding. We also acknowledge that high-level visits to the UAE and Qatar have positively influenced our relations. The 2023 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has further facilitated our bilateral trade.

Following the 1st Term Meeting of the Türkiye-UAE Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), we successfully gathered business figures in Istanbul. As an organization, we solidified our relations by signing a cooperation agreement with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. With the appointment of their newly elected Prime Minister, we observe that our relations with Iraq have gained positive momentum. The visit of the Prime Minister followed by the visits of our Minister of Trade and Minister of Energy to Iraq indicate a positive upturn in the trajectory of our relations.

Our limited relations with Iran, which is subject to international sanctions, and other countries in the war-torn region continue with close relations with foreign diplomatic missions and diasporas in Türkiye. The region holds special significance for our country, and our relations are multidimensional. The countries in the region exhibited tremendous solidarity with Türkiye, especially after the earthquake disaster in February of this year, which was termed the “disaster of the century”. With the joy of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye, we are committed to further enhancing our business diplomacy activities in the Middle East and the Gulf Region.