Turkey keen to complete trade talks with Gulf council by end of year

Turkey wants to complete negotiations for a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council by the end of the year, the Turkish trade ministry said on Wednesday, after Ankara hosted the first round of talks this week.

Ankara and the council agreed in March to hold the talks as Turkey bids to broaden economic ties with the region after diplomatic efforts in 2020 ended years of tensions with Gulf countries, namely Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The ministry said the parties discussed goods trade, rules of origin, contracting, tourism and health, and that service trade and steps to facilitate investments were also evaluated.

“The sides have agreed to continue the talks through online meetings and to meet in Riyadh in the second half of the year for a second round of negotiations. The negotiations are aimed to be completed by the end of the year,” it said in a statement.

Ankara already has a trade pact, dubbed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, with the UAE.

Since normalising ties with Gulf countries, Ankara has signed deals worth billions of dollars with regional powers, including Qatar, with which it enjoys strong ties.

Turkey’s trade volume with the Gulf grouping stood at $31.5 billion in 2023, the ministry said, and the trade pact would help increase mutual investment and cooperation in various areas.

The Gulf council includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain.

Separately, the British Embassy in Ankara said on Tuesday that Britain wanted to resume trade talks with Turkey from later this year after negotiations were stalled due to the UK general election early in July.