Tugba Altun and Asiye Latife Yilmaz
09 May 2025•Update: 10 May 2025
ANKARA/ISTANBUL
Cooperation between Ankara and Athens will expand across various sectors to help reach the $10 billion bilateral trade goal, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay said on Friday at the Türkiye-Greece Business Forum in Istanbul.
Bozay said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 2023 visit to Greece resulted in an agreement with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to strengthen economic ties, and the two countries' foreign ministers have been working closely together since then.
Türkiye and Greece are neighboring countries with close ties, and he believes that cooperation between the two would benefit both sides as well as the region as a whole.
He added that with the help of high-level meetings and dialogue, the two countries should embark on a new phase of engagement, backed by a positive agenda initiative.
Bozay emphasized that the $10 billion trade goal set by the two leaders is crucial not only for economic growth but also for regional stability and the establishment of resilient and diverse partnerships.
He said today’s forum would benefit trade and other aspects of bilateral relations, highlighting the need to explore new opportunities and diversify options in transportation and infrastructure.
Noting that 1.1 million Turkish tourists visited Greece last year and 670,000 Greeks visited Türkiye, he added: “Türkiye is determined to strengthen its ties with Greece through constructive dialogue and cooperation. Let us seize this momentum to maintain economic vitality, sustainable friendship, and mutual connectivity through the ties of our peoples and our business world.”
Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Extroversion Tasos Chatzivasileiou, also said they met with business representatives to exchange ideas and design joint projects, highlighting the long history of cooperation between the Greek and Turkish business communities based on shared needs.
He said strengthening commercial ties is based on good neighborly relations and respect for international law, emphasizing it as a shared responsibility.
Chatzivasileiou noted that the two countries’ trade volume has surpassed $5 billion, with a target of $10 billion.
He stressed the importance of business networks in boosting trade and investment and highlighted promising opportunities, particularly in energy, which are aided by the Mitsotakis government's emphasis on regional electricity and connectivity projects.
“Cooperation in the energy sector will also contribute to regional stability for the business world. Energy plays a vital role in enhancing security in our region, which faces many challenges and turbulence."
“This is, of course, supported by goodwill and resilience. I firmly believe that both countries are moving in the right direction. There is a sincere will on both sides to deepen our cooperation,” Chatzivasileiou added.
