Turkish Minister of Trade: Turkish-Romanian bilateral economic relations have evolved in all fields

 Bilateral economic relations have evolved in all areas, trade, investment, tourism, transportation and services, with many large Turkish companies and small and medium-sized enterprises investing directly in Romania, with around 19. 000 such companies, Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Bolat said on Friday, after the conclusion of the second session of the Joint Economic Trade Cooperation Committee (JETCO), which he chaired together with Romanian Economy Minister Stefan-Radu Oprea."As far as energy cooperation is concerned, there are many ongoing projects. There are also projects on the transportation of gas from Romania to Western Europe, with Turkish companies contracted to provide services. In the defence industry, we see greatThe functioning regulation was signed on 8 February 2019 in Bucharest, by the two ministers of commerce (and co-presidents of JETCO) and the first session JETCO took place in Istanbul on 19 April 2019. opportunities for both countries for joint production and cooperation in defence procurement for land, naval and air forces. Turkey has made a major leap in the defence industry. Turkish defence products are sold in 138 countries. We sell about 220 different defence products," said the Turkish minister of Trade.The Turkish official appreciated Romania's support for his country within the European Union, for the modernization of the customs union. "Turkey has a customs union relationship with the European Union, where Romania is a full member, and both countries have excellent political relations, very close and warm neighborly relations in the economic field," Omer Bolat said.According to him, Turkey appreciates the "lifting the road quotas between the two countries". "We have just started a new ferry line between Turkey's northern Black Sea coast and Constanta, which will improve and boost transport between the two countries," the Turkish minister of Trade explained.   În turn, Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Minister Stefan-Radu Oprea on Friday said that there is evident progress in the value of bilateral trade between Romania and Türkiye, as he led the second session of the Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) between Romania and the Republic of Türkiye, alongside Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Bolat."The first meeting took place in 2019 in Istanbul, when I initiated it as minister of Trade at that time. Today, together with my Turkish counterpart, we had very good, practical discussions on how to enhance bilateral economic relations. We had a target of 10 billion dollars; we are already at 11.5 billion dollars (in trade - editor's note). When I visited Ankara with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and President Erdogan, we set a new target of 15 billion dollars for the value of bilateral trade, and progress is already evident," said the Romanian minister after the JETCO meeting.He acknowledged that there is a certain imbalance in Romania's trade balance with Turkey. "However, let's look a bit broader at this trade balance and also consider the value of Turkish investments in Romania," Stefan-Radu Oprea noted. According to him, there are nearly 19,000 Turkish companies investing in Romania, many of which are among Romania's main exporters, "with Ford Otosan currently in second place.""When we look at the trade balance, we must consider, on one hand, the trade exchanges between Türkiye and Romania, and on the other hand, the value of Turkish investments in Romania and the value of exports these companies generate. If we see things from this perspective, we will find that the very good government-level relations translate into good relations among businesspeople," Oprea added.He explained that during the JETCO meeting, discussions primarily focused on resolving recent difficulties regarding the export of poultry and live animals."We also discussed the tobacco industry and the paper industry. These are issues that the Romanian industry has brought to our attention recently. Additionally, from Türkiye's side, there is the issue of visas. How can we open up tourism more for Turkish tourists? How can we also have longer-duration visas for business?," Oprea said.Moreover, they discussed bringing Turkish specialists from construction companies in Turkey, "which have already won many contracts." The minister gave the development of road infrastructure as an example.He mentioned that on Friday, there would be bilateral meetings in the business sector between entrepreneurs.According to him, it was decided during the meeting that JETCO meetings will be held at least annually. In fact, the third session of the Economic and Trade Commission between Romania and the Republic of Türkiye will take place in 2025, either in Ankara or Istanbul.   *** JETCO ( Joint Economic and Trade Commission) is an instrument for bilateral dialogue centered on the economic and commercial dimension of the bilateral relation, according to the site of the Romanian embassy in Ankara. The declaration of establishment of JETCO Romania – the Republic of Turkey was signed by the ministries of economy in the two countries on the margin of the visit to Romania of the president of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 1 April2015. The functioning regulation was signed on 8 February 2019 in Bucharest, by the two ministers of commerce (and co-presidents of JETCO) and the first session JETCO took place in Istanbul on 19 April 2019. (https://economie.gov.ro/)