“We attach great importance to establishing effective economic and trade partnerships in our region and around the world”
Speaking at the Türkiye-Italy Business Forum in Rome, President Erdoğan said: “We attach great importance to establishing effective economic and trade partnerships in our region and around the world as required by our geographical location that connects west and east, north and south.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Giorgia Meloni of the Council of Ministers of Italy attended the Türkiye-Italy Business Forum in Rome, where he delivered a speech.
Voicing his happiness over being in Rome for the 4th Türkiye-Italy Intergovernmental Summit, President Erdoğan thanked Prime Minister Meloni for her kind hospitality.
“We are going through a period in which more protectionism and introversion are being discussed in economy. We are all monitoring the mutual confrontations over customs tariffs. We are endeavoring to successfully manage this dynamic atmosphere and even turn it into an opportunity for our country's economy. We have emerged unscathed from similar processes in the past, especially the coronavirus pandemic. We believe that we will display the same success today, and we trust the Turkish economy. We attach great importance to establishing effective economic and trade partnerships in our region and around the world as required by our geographical location that connects west and east, north and south,” President Erdoğan said.
“TÜRKİYE’S ECONOMY CONTINUES TO GROW DESPITE THE CONFLICTS AND WARS IN OUR REGION”
“It is my great pleasure to state today that Türkiye’s economy continues to grow despite the conflicts and wars in our region and the earthquake of the century that we sustained in 2023. The direct cost of the earthquake to the Turkish economy is $104 billion and the indirect cost is $150 billion, yet we are rapidly healing our wounds. We are taking firm steps towards our goals in economy, production, employment, investment, tourism and defense industry. In the period since the earthquake, we have handed over the keys of more than 201 thousand houses to our citizens whose houses had been destroyed in the earthquake, and by the end of the year, we will have built 252 thousand more houses and inshallah we will overcome this heavy burden,” President Erdoğan said.
“In 2024, we broke the record of the last 100 years with $262 billion in exports. Our defense industry exports, one of the strongest sectors of our country, reached the highest level in history with $7 billion 154 million. We are one of the few countries that have achieved an average annual growth rate of around 5 percent in the last 20 years. In the last 20 years, we have invested nearly $300 billion in infrastructure. Our exports have increased by more than 20 times in 20 years. We have doubled our share of world exports. We have attracted nearly $270 billion of international direct investment in the last 20 years. The number of companies with foreign capital in Türkiye increased from 6 thousand to more than 80 thousand. We have entered a lasting and significant decline process in inflation, which affects the whole world. We are resolutely implementing our economic program, and inshallah, we will not step back from this. We are determined both to improve the investment environment and to implement new structural reforms,” President Erdoğan said.
TÜRKİYE & ITALY SET $40-BILLION TRADE VOLUME TARGET
Highlighting the continuous upward trend in the bilateral trade between Türkiye and Italy since the Covid pandemic, President Erdoğan said: “Our trade volume, which was $17.3 billion in 2020, almost doubled in 2024 and exceeded $32 billion. Today, Italian capital in Türkiye amounts to nearly $5 billion, including those coming in indirectly, while Turkish capital in Italy has made a significant breakthrough in recent years and is close to $1 billion. Just as Turkish companies see Italy as a gateway to the European market, we would like Italian companies to see Türkiye as a gateway to Asia, the Middle East and Africa. A population of 2 billion can be reached in just a few hours' flight from Istanbul. Turkish Airlines also connects 9 cities in Italy to Istanbul. This enormous potential for trade, investment and transportation encourages us to set big and ambitious goals. With this in mind, at today's summit, we, together with Prime Minister Meloni, set our new trade volume target as $40 billion.”
“WE NEED TO UPDATE OUR CUSTOMS UNION WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION”
“We would like to see more investors in Türkiye, which has become a center of attraction in its region and in the world, in addition to the already-present 1500 Italian companies. In particular, we believe that it would be in our interest to increase our joint efforts to get our share of the expected expansion in the security and defense sector in Europe. We also need to develop strategic partnerships in such areas as green energy, digital technologies, smart cities and space,” President Erdoğan said.
Underlining the need to update the Customs Union with the European Union, President Erdoğan said: “We feel the need to update our Customs Union with the European Union in line with the changing global economic conditions in order for our trade and economic relations to reach their potential. We expect the support of the Italian Government and business circles for an update that will benefit both sides with a win-win approach. On the other hand, we see that the difficulties experienced by our business community regarding visa issues hinder our economic relations. I think it would be in the best interest of both sides for the Italian business circles to raise this issue before the European Union institutions.”
