Türkiye targets $1B in bilateral trade with Kosovo

ISTANBUL

Türkiye targets $1 billion in bilateral trade with Kosovo by the end of 2024, the Turkish trade minister said.

Omer Bolat said that the trade volume between Türkiye and Kosovo reached $785 million in 2023, and with the continued positive momentum over the years, the trade volume between the two countries will reach $1 billion by the end of this year.

In his speech at the first Türkiye-Kosovo Business Forum held at the Foreign and Diplomatic Relations Board headquarters, Bolat said that Turkish firms’ investments in Kosovo reached €429 million ($465 million) as of 2023, and currently Türkiye is the sixth country that invested the most in Kosovo, according to statistics of the Central Bank of Kosovo.

“Turkish construction firms have so far successfully completed 30 projects worth $1.5 billion in Kosovo, and Turkish technical consultancy firms have completed 19 projects worth $9.3 million in total,” he said.

“We are ready to cooperate with our Kosovar friends in the 2030 Mediterranean Games to be held in Pristina,” he added.

Bolat said that the development of economic cooperation between the two countries will greatly contribute to their economies and welfare of the region, and for that, he highlighted that he will sign a protocol for Türkiye-Kosovo Joint Economic and Trade Committee with Kosovo’s minister of industry, entrepreneurship, and trade, Rozeta Hajdari, in Ankara on Tuesday.

“We will create a fast system to enable concrete steps to be taken to improve economic and trade relations, as we have no doubt that our efforts will contribute to the prosperity of the two countries, and as an EU membership candidate, Kosovo is an important trade partner for Türkiye, therefore, this protocol will yield fruitful cooperation in the future,” the trade minister said.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim