Unleashing Potential: Russia and Turkey Focus on Increasing Bilateral Trade to $100 Billion
On December 10, the first Offsite Session to promote Russia's business and investment potential took place in Istanbul, Turkey, organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation and the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Turkey. Turkish and Russian business associations, business representatives, and government officials discussed ways to expand bilateral trade through new investment projects and product opportunities.
The session gathered over 360representatives of Russian and Turkish businesses, business associations, media, and government bodies.
The central theme of the discussions was strengthening bilateral cooperation and expanding trade and economic relations. The event aimed to not only showcase existing mechanisms supporting collaboration between Russian and foreign companies but also explore new models of cooperation to overcome challenges in the transforming global economy.
In his welcome address, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Turkey Aleksei Erkhov stated: "Trade and economic relations between Russia and Turkey are developing now in a difficult foreign policy environment. The current situation is characterized by the presence of serious challenges for the economic entities of our countries. At the same time, at crisis and turning points in history, there is a chance to reassess values and tasks, in particular in the economic sphere, and develop new more effective forms and methods of work. It seems that both Russia and Turkey have a similar chance now. In this context, the events of the Roscongress Foundation can become an effective platform for developing joint actions and strengthening mutually beneficial and equal partnership".
Turkey, as one of the world's top 20 economies, has the capacity to fill market niches traditionally occupied by Western companies with its products. Promising areas highlighted during the session include technological imports as well as the supply of Turkish equipment and goods.
"Despite a number of constraints, cooperation between Russia and Turkey remains at a dynamic level. Our cooperation is conducted both at the intergovernmental, interregional and event levels. As a result, the share of Russian business in the Turkish market is growing, there is a trend towards localization of Russian production, promising areas are developing: digital sphere, electronic commerce, creative industry. In this context, the events of the Roscongress Foundation play a special role due to their authority and the opportunities they open up for Turkish business," said Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Turkey Aidar Gashigullin.
Russia and Turkey are currently cooperating actively in the energy sector. Together with the Russian corporation Rosatom, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is under construction in Turkey, set to supply around 10% of Turkey’s electricity needs. Additionally, Russia provides up to 50% of Turkey’s natural gas requirements, including through the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea. Tourism also remains a vital area of collaboration: in 2023, Turkey welcomed over 7 million Russian tourists, far exceeding arrivals from other countries.
Speakers highlighted that Turkey is also one of the largest importers from Russia, in turn, Russia ranks 4th in terms of exported goods and services from Turkey.
Further economic growth between the two countries is anticipated, supported by Roscongress Foundation’s projects, including major Russian business forums, showcased during the session.
"During his meeting with President Putin in Astana on July 3, 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized Turkey's goal to achieve $100 billion in trade with Russia[1]. The infrastructure for significant trade growth between our countries already exists: in the first half of 2024, trade reached $28 billion. The Roscongress Foundation sees its mission as bringing together Russian and Turkish businesses to achieve this target. Today's session is just the beginning of a broader dialogue, which must continue at platforms like the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Russian Energy Week, the Caucasus Investment Forum, and others. Turkish companies are well-acquainted with these formats: for example, in 2024, Turkish businesses actively participated in SPIEF, representing sectors such as logistics, construction, wholesale trade, machinery, and pharmaceuticals. Today's discussions will form the foundation for proposals to further develop trade, which I hope will continue in Russia," said Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Roscongress Foundation Alexander Stuglev.
The importance of strengthening Russian-Turkish relations was also emphasized by Representative of the Turkish Ministry of Trade Ali Alperen Kachar and Chairman of the Turkish-Russian Business Council (DEIK) Izzet Ekmekcibashi. Speakers highlighted Russia as a long-standing business partner of the Turkish Republic and successes in cooperation, for example, in the field of construction (Turkey is the third country after China in terms of the number of contracts implemented), medical tourism, education and in the creative industries, the volume of investments is growing. The speakers also noted that Russia's current policy is aimed at evenly distributing investments and opportunities for cooperation between all regions.
The session concluded with a panel discussion where participants shared success stories of Russian-Turkish cooperation and their perspectives on overcoming current challenges. Special attention was given to collaboration within the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum framework.
Panelists included Chairman of the Russian-Turkish Business Association (RTIB) Erdem Acay, Representative of OPORA Russia in Turkey's Marmara and Aegean regions İsmet Biner, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of SPIEF Alexei Valkov, Chairman of the Turkish Machinery Manufacturers Association (MIB) Emre Gençer, Chairman of the Russian-Turkish Trade House "ROST" Kadir Kurtuluş, Representative of the Russian Export Center in Turkey Timur Safin, and Representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in Turkey Vladimir Emmer.
