2024-07-09 13:57:14
Turkey and the European Union held talks in the first round of the high-level trade dialogue to discuss issues related to visas, bilateral trade and the customs union, Turkish media reported.
The Minister of Trade Yomer Bolat, accompanied by a Turkish delegation, as well as the Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis took part in the talks in Brussels today, along with officials of the commission, BTA reported.
In the morning, we are meeting with representatives of business circles from the EU and Turkey at a round table, and in the afternoon intergovernmental meetings will be held, Minister Bolat wrote on his account on the social network Ex.
The EU is Turkey’s largest trading partner and export market. Last year, over 40 percent of Turkey’s exports went to the EU, amounting to $104 billion, and the EU’s share of exports to the country amounted to $53 billion, or 42.3 percent, in the first half of 2024, notes in Hurriet.
During the meeting, we assessed the functioning of the customs union, the current state of bilateral trade, as well as the expectations and proposals of the business community, especially regarding the updating of the customs union, with the aim of further developing economic relations, Bolat said .
We will continue our work with determination to further deepen our trade and economic relations with the EU, which is our most important trading partner, the minister added.
The launch of a high-level trade dialogue between Turkey and the EU was among the recommendations in the joint declaration on the current state of political, trade and economic relations between Turkey and the EU in November 2023. It was then decided that the first meeting under this mechanism would be held in July.