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.

AGERPRES