Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said he attended an interdelegation meeting held at the Presidential Complex as part of Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker’s visit.
Bolat said trade between Türkiye and Austria reached a historic high of $4.4 billion last year. The meeting addressed the goal of maintaining the positive momentum in bilateral trade and increasing trade volume to $6 billion in a balanced and sustainable manner.
Higher investment targeted
Bolat said 1,075 Austrian companies operate in Türkiye and that Austria’s stock of direct investment in Türkiye had reached $4.8 billion. Türkiye’s total investments in Austria stood at $1.8 billion.
Bolat said the aim was to further expand existing investment ties by diversifying investment portfolios and increasing their volume.
Potential for joint projects in third countries
The meeting also addressed the opportunities provided by the cooperation agreement signed between Oesterreichische Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft, Austria’s official export credit agency, and Türk Eximbank.
It was stated that Turkish companies’ experience and expertise in international contracting could be combined with the high-technology engineering capabilities and financing opportunities of Austrian companies to undertake joint projects in third countries.
Liberalization of road transport on the agenda
Bolat highlighted the importance of fully liberalizing road transport in line with the upward trend in commercial relations. He said the expectation of increasing the number of existing transit permits was also shared at the meeting.
It was stated that Türkiye and Austria should cooperate not only in their bilateral commercial and economic relations but also under the framework of the European Union in areas including the Industrial Acceleration Act, the green and digital transitions, public procurement and trade policies.
Bolat said they were determined to increase trade between the two countries, strengthen ties between their business communities and place economic relations on a more institutional footing.
