By Mert Davut and Emir Yildirim
ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye and Greece are aiming for a $10 billion trade volume target with the launch of a “positive agenda” initiative, as bilateral cooperation in healthcare, the environment, culture and arts, tourism, economy, and trade is expected to grow.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Athens at the end of 2023 for the 5th Türkiye-Greece High-Level Cooperation Council to increase the foreign trade volume between the two countries, the first such meeting in seven years.
Last year, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Türkiye to explore cooperation opportunities. The high-level mutual visits have taken in line with the positive agenda initiative to boost trade ties between the two.
Now Mitsotakis is expected to visit Türkiye this April, and a high-level cooperation meeting is also expected to be held, as relations between the two countries have improved over the years.
- Turkish exports to Greece on rise
Türkiye’s exports to Greece have risen from $1.8 billion in 2020 to $3.1 billion in 2021 and then to $3.3 billion in 2022, according to data compiled by Anadolu.
As mutual high-level visits intensified, the improving relations were reflected in Türkiye’s export figures. Turkish exports to Greece in 2023 approached $4.2 billion and in 2024 shot past $4.8 billion.
Greek imports to Türkiye have fluctuated from 2020 to 2024, closing out last year at $1.4 billion.
The pandemic’s impact on international trade was also seen in trade between Türkiye and Greece, as the two countries’ foreign trade volume totaled $3.1 billion in 2020, while coming in at $6.2 billion in 2024, as the figures edge closer to the $10 billion target.
Türkiye last year saw a trade surplus of $3.5 billion with Greece.
As for tourism, the number of tourists rose from 136,305 in 2020 during the pandemic to 686,430 in 2023.
The number of Greek tourists to Türkiye last year rose 3% to 707,133.