Turkiye's Trade Ministry Allocates Funds To Support Exporters

(MENAFN- AzerNews) The Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat gave a speech at the "2024 Foreign Trade Data Announcement Program" held at the Haliç Congress Center with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Bolat stated that despite the difficult processes in the global economy, Turkiye continues to produce, provide employment, and export its products and services to all corners of the world.

"In this context, we are pleased to see that our country stands out positively compared to the OECD countries, the EU and the world economies," the Minister told.

Speaking about other supports provided for exports, Bolat added, "As the Ministry of Trade, we use approximately 60 percent of our annual budget to support our exporters. With the contribution of our President, 3.4 billion liras were added to the support amount initially determined as 21.3 billion liras for 2024, and we offered 24.7 billion liras as our support budget for the use of our goods and services exporters. Hopefully, we will have a support budget of 33 billion liras in 2025."

Bolat reported that to date, the foreign contracting sector has undertaken 12,462 projects exceeding 536 billion dollars in 137 countries; and the technical consultancy sector has undertaken 2,993 projects exceeding 3.5 billion dollars in 138 countries.

Minister Bolat informed that Turkiye's national income increased to 1 trillion 260 billion dollars annually as of the first 9 months of 2024, and said that the contribution of net goods and services exports to the 3.2 percent growth in the January-September period was 1.9 points. Bolat stated that more than half of the growth came from net goods and services exports.

The Minister, who stated that they had a surplus in the current account balance for 5 consecutive months, said, "2024 has been a period of balancing and stability in foreign trade of goods and services and the current account."

Minister Bolat, who stated that the quality products of the Turkish industry have managed to become sought-after, appreciated and desired products in the world market, said that the share of medium-high and high-tech products in exports is 41 percent. Ömer Bolat commented, "The defense industry products that managed to export 6 billion 750 million dollars to 180 countries this year have become a symbol of the quality and technology of the Turkish industry."

Bolat noted that they signed a preferential trade agreement with the Maldives last year and completed the negotiations to expand the free trade agreement they signed with Palestine, and concluded his words as follows.

"With the freedom of our neighbor Syria, we will enter into a major move in the new period in terms of trade, investment and reconstruction. We are completing our preparations in terms of both our free trade agreement and customs regimes in the new period. We will try to maximize our trade and investment relations with Syria in the new period by working together with the Syrian authorities," the Minister said.

Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), stated that they completed the last year with a record despite the difficulties they experienced in competitiveness, conflicts and instabilities in the region.

"As exporters, we always know that we can achieve better. We are already locked in on our 2025 target of 280 billion dollars," he said.

Stating that exports are not just about the figures to be announced, Gültepe said, "Exports are the sum of a nation's production, development, imagination and dreaming skills."

Gültepe stated that they organized 135 delegations to 58 countries as TİM and exporter unions, and said, "We participated in nearly 350 fairs. We held 35 thousand bilateral business meetings in our delegations. We traveled around the world 14 times with the delegations we organized, and brought distant places closer to our companies."

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