Turkey’s trade with GCC soars 11-fold in two decades

DP World

Turkey’s bilateral trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries surged to $22.7 billion in 2022 from $2.1 billion in 2002.

“There is an 11-fold increase in our trade,” Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing Turkey’s trade minister Ömer Bolat’s speech at the GCC-Turkey Economic Forum in Istanbul.

Bolat said that Turkey’s exports to the GCC countries soared from $1.2 billion to $9.5 billion, with imports at $13.3 billion, up from below $1 billion two decades ago.

• Stronger GCC relations a boon to Turkey’s Islamic banks
• Turkey and Egypt can trip up Gulf lenders says analyst
• UAE-Turkey trade set for 50% rise to $15bn in 2023

The GCC comprises the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Trade volume with Arab countries is increasing, the minister said, with exports to Arab countries reaching $46 billion in 2022, while imports stood at $36 billion last year.

Bolat said Turkey’s economy grew by 5.5 percent last year and 11.4 percent the year before.

He said the country’s expected economic growth is estimated at four percent and above for 2023.

“Our national income, which was $808 billion in 2021, $906 billion in 2022, is expected to exceed $1 trillion at the end of the year,” Bolat said.