Recent rapprochement and developments in Türkiye's political and diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have positively reflected on Turkish exports to the two Gulf countries, according to a report Thursday.
Türkiye’s outbound shipments to the two states last year reached some $11.2 billion (TL 336 billion), data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Trade Ministry and Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) showed.
In comparison, the exports to the two countries stood at some $6.3 billion a year before that.
After the presidential runoff last year that extended President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s time in office into the third decade, he visited Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar as part of his Gulf tour.
During these visits, 18 agreements and a joint declaration were inked in several fields, from investment to industry, defense, health and renewable energy to the space industry and a $50.7 billion agreement was made between Türkiye and the UAE.
Last year, the UAE ranked ninth as the country to which Türkiye imported and exported the most.
In 2023, exports to this country increased by 63.4% compared to 2022, reaching approximately $8.58 billion. In 2022, some $5.25 billion of exports were made.
Furthermore, during Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia last year, comprised of ministerial and business delegations, five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two countries.
In a sign of mending ties and the president’s second visit to the kingdom last July following the first high-level visit in years in 2022, the rebound in trade was reflected in figures for 2023.
Accordingly, Türkiye’s exports to Saudi Arabia leaped by as much as 150.3% in 12 months when compared to 2022.
The figure hit some $2.6 billion last year, up from $1.04 billion registered a year earlier.
While the jewelry sector stood out among products exported to the UAE, products such as carpets, grain, pulses and chemicals were among the goods Türkiye mainly shipped to Saudi Arabia last year.
The country came in as the 20th country to which Türkiye exports the most.
The surge in trade with these countries, with which relations have been upgraded to the level of strategic cooperation and partnership in recent years, is expected to continue in 2024.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, late in 2023, also visited Gulf countries as part of his investment tour, where he presented Türkiye’s economic policies and investment opportunities within the country.