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

By Pramod Kumar
Turkey’s exports to the GCC have soared from $1.2 billion to $9.5 billion in the past 20 years DP World
Tiurkey's manufacturing index stayed in negative territory for the sixth month running as market conditions remained challenging domestically and abroad

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.

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.

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