Türkiye-Malaysia Trade Sees Dramatic Upswing

(MENAFN) Bilateral commerce between Turkey and Malaysia has experienced a dramatic upswing, with Turkish shipments to the Southeast Asian nation skyrocketing 52% year-over-year during the January-October window, hitting $509.5 million, driven by intensified partnership efforts between the two governments.

The surge follows Ankara's strategic pivot toward Malaysia under its "Far Countries Strategy," targeting expanded collaboration across multiple sectors including commerce, defense industry, tourism, and foreign investment.

Overall bilateral trade climbed 11.6% annually across the ten-month span, reaching $4.3 billion, data from TurkStat, the national statistics office, reveals. Full-year 2024 figures recorded $4.9 billion in two-way trade.

The commercial breakthrough stems directly from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's February 10-11 state visit to Malaysia, which triggered an immediate export acceleration. The diplomatic mission yielded 11 bilateral agreements spanning energy infrastructure, trade frameworks, scientific collaboration, and defense procurement.

At a joint media briefing, Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim jointly elevated their bilateral trade target from $5 billion to $10 billion.

Erdogan emphasized that "technology transfer and joint production projects created a momentum in the Turkish defense industry, and that this would continue with firms ready to share their know-how and products with Malaysia to benefit both countries."

Tourism flows have mirrored the commercial expansion. Malaysian visitor arrivals to Turkey jumped 11% year-over-year in October alone, totaling 82,315 travelers, according to the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Industry projections anticipate Malaysian tourist numbers will surpass the 100,000 threshold before year-end if current growth trajectories hold steady.

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