ISTANBUL 

Türkiye and Russia signed the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation (JEC) protocol Friday in Moscow, which covers the two countries' bilateral trade and economic relations and topics such as energy, agriculture, contracting, environment, education and transport.

Turkish and Russian delegations met in Moscow to hold the Turkish-Russian JEC meeting under the chairmanship of Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksander Novak.

Bolat and Novak signed the JEC protocol at a ceremony held after the meeting, where economic and trade issues between the two countries were discussed.

Bolat said that the protocol will be a roadmap for Türkiye-Russia trade and economic relations.

“Turkish and Russian economies, which have already proven their resilience, offer the necessary opportunities to build stronger cooperation with their complementary qualities,” Bolat said, noting that Türkiye and Russia continue to develop their economic relations.

Pointing out that Türkiye and Russia are important actors and neighbors in the region, Bolat said that the trade and economic cooperation that the two countries have developed over the years has laid the foundation for peace and stability in the region.

Bolat said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin continue their joint efforts to further develop these relations and reach the target set by the two countries to reach $100 billion in bilateral trade.

Stating that the Turkish economy has been growing consecutively for 19 quarters, Bolat noted that it grew by 3.2% last year and reached a size of $1.3 trillion.

Bolat noted that Türkiye has increased its export volume from $36 billion in 2002 to $262 billion in 2024 by seven times.

"The undeniable potential of the Turkish economy is echoed on a global scale. As a matter of fact, the World Bank has recently revised our country's growth forecasts upwards from 2.6% to 3.1%."

Pointing out that the Russian economy also showed a superior performance contrary to global forecasts, Bolat stated that according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, it recorded 4.1% growth in both 2023 and 2024.