ISTANBUL

The Türkiye and France Joint Economic and Trade Cooperation (JETCO) meeting was held in Istanbul on Tuesday with the participation of French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Nicolas Forissier and Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat.

Hosted by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), parties determined a roadmap for the two countries' economic and trade ties during the JETCO meeting.

Bolat said during the meeting that Türkiye-France bilateral trade volume was at $14 billion five years ago but soared to $24.1 billion in 2025.

There has also been an increase in mutual investments; Turkish companies' investments in France have reached $1 billion and France's investments in Türkiye have also reached $8.7 billion, Bolat said, adding: "1,749 French companies have significant investments in Türkiye in industry, energy, services, transportation, and aviation."

Bolat stated that within this framework, there is a very close integration and value chain system between Türkiye and France in industry, manufacturing, and the economic sphere, which is increasing every year, and that both sides are very pleased with this.

He stated that of the $8.7 billion in French investments, $4 billion came in the last four years, and that French companies are discussing $5 billion in new investments and projects over the next three years.

The minister said the delegations held comprehensive discussions aimed at further developing Turkish-French cooperation, primarily in trade and investment, but also in contracting services, joint ventures in third countries, energy, transportation, environment, water, aviation, defense industry, and logistics sectors.

Bolat stated that there is already significant cooperation and mutual investment between the two countries in the automotive, aviation, pharmaceutical, renewable energy, textile, food, cement, construction, information and communication technologies, tourism, finance, and insurance sectors, emphasizing that they believe these will develop further and that new investments are being discussed.

On the other hand, Bolat stated that they discussed many issues with Nicolas Forissier regarding relations between Türkiye and the EU, and emphasized that both sides were very satisfied with the solutions they agreed upon to resolve some issues in the customs union.

He said: "The French side stated that they issued visas to 163,000 citizens of the Republic of Türkiye last year, which is the highest number of visas they issued worldwide after China.

"They noted that waiting times have been significantly reduced and that the visa regime has been made easier, especially for students and businesspeople."