Türkiye could restart trade with Israel ‘if ceasefire is permanent,’trade body says

Gökçe Aytulu - ISTANBUL

Türkiye could restart trade with Israel if the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is permanent, the head of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) said on Tuesday.

Nail Olpak’s statements came days after Israel and Gaza reached an agreement and the truce started to end the 15-month war in the Palestinian territory.

In May 2024, Türkiye suspended all trade with Israel over its offensive in Gaza, citing the "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the strip.

At that time, the Turkish Trade Ministry said the measures would be in place until Israel allowed an "uninterrupted and sufficient flow" of aid into Gaza and a permanent ceasefire.

Trade between the two countries was worth almost $7 billion in 2023.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has notably been a vocal critic of the military offensive in Gaza. He has also accused Israel of carrying out war crimes and genocide in Gaza.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Olpak also said that DEİK received reports regarding payment difficulties for goods exported to Russia through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, though he did not provide further details.

Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Western nations imposed unprecedented sanctions, leading to challenges for Turkish exporters in receiving payments from Russia.

Olpak also noted that the board submitted a request to Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, seeking a reduction or elimination of the requirement for exporters to sell 30 percent of their foreign currency earnings to the central bank. Last June, the central bank reduced the mandatory ratio from 40 percent to 30 percent as its reserves continued to rise.