Türkiye and the United States will cooperate to halt the flow of counterfeit goods and piracy, a U.S. official said Tuesday at an event organized by the Trade Ministry in Istanbul.

The event on protecting intellectual property (IP) rights was held in collaboration with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

U.S. Deputy Consul General in Istanbul Fleur Cowan said the right of intellectual property encourages innovation and creativity, which is a key drive for economic growth for both Türkiye and the U.S.

Cowan added that counterfeiting and piracy cause legitimate businesses to suffer and economic growth to slow.

She noted that Istanbul is a key city for stopping the transportation of illegal goods and that the cooperation between Türkiye and the U.S. on this issue is essential to the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Cowan highlighted the threat that counterfeit alcohol and pharmaceuticals pose to health, underlining that the U.S. is committed to working with Türkiye and the private sector to develop strategies for resolving this issue.

The head of the Import and Origin Department at the Trade Ministry, Cenk Burak Altay, said the event would provide a good opportunity to improve cooperation among all stakeholders in protecting intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Altay stressed that these rights have become crucial in recent years, saying, "The protection of IP is an important issue for the economy, public health and safety."

"We see an increased number of applications for customs protection on IP rights by right holders, and this close cooperation between Turkish customs and right holders has had a great impact on the increase, as when we look at the number of interceptions at customs, we can see that the number increases every year," he added.