ISTANBUL

Türkiye and Poland trade in a variety of sectors, ranging from auto parts to automotives, chemicals to contracting, and defense, among others, the head of the Türkiye-Poland Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) told Anadolu.

Ercan Duman stated that the target trade volume between Türkiye and Poland was set at $15 billion during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in March.

This week, the 4th Poland-Türkiye Economic Forum was held in Istanbul with the focus on green technologies and energy transition.

Duman noted that Poland is a gateway to the Baltic states and other major markets, and the country rapidly developed its gross national income per capita, “reaching up to $18,000, upgrading from a developing country to a developed one.”

“The trade volume between Türkiye and Poland rose from $7 billion to $12 billion over a very short time, and this trend is continuing,” he said.

Duman stated that there are various leading sectors doing trade between the two countries, with significant progress in the defense, IT, and logistics sectors.

“The beauty lies in diversity,” he said. “In terms of trade balance, our exports are higher and the balance is in Türkiye’s favor—while the difference used to be higher, the figure narrowed down in recent years.”

Duman mentioned that Türkiye and Poland share a similar approach to energy, as Poland works towards reducing its energy dependence on Russian gas and ensuring its energy security, placing emphasis on renewable energy.

“Türkiye is investing both in renewable energy and conventional energy to ensure diversity—these prove important areas for cooperation,” he said. “There are some examples of this; for instance, Turkish firm Kalyon Energy has a renewable energy project that was completed with funding from Poland.”

Duman stated that another example of energy cooperation was the joint venture for the floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, currently being built in the Gulf of Gdansk.

“It will be the first floating terminal when built,” he said. “A consortium of two Turkish firms and one Polish company is undertaking the project.”

“The agreement for the project was signed this year, and it covers the executive design, procurement of equipment, and the construction process—the land-based part of the project is being done by Polish firms, while 70% of the project is undertaken by Turkish contributions,” he added.

Emphasizing that the shared objectives of the two countries are to boost diversity, ensure energy security, and reduce dependency, he said the examples of cooperation should inspire more to come.