عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Turkey Seeks to Increase Trade Volume with EU

Cargo containers on a ship at a port in Qingdao, eastern China. AFP photo
Cargo containers on a ship at a port in Qingdao, eastern China. AFP photo
TT
TT

Turkey Seeks to Increase Trade Volume with EU

Cargo containers on a ship at a port in Qingdao, eastern China. AFP photo
Cargo containers on a ship at a port in Qingdao, eastern China. AFP photo

Turkey’s Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci expected an update of the customs union agreement with the European Union to increase trade between the two sides to 200 billion dollars in 18 months.

Zeybekcin said at the Istanbul Financial Summit that the volume of trade between Turkey and EU could reach 500 billion dollars from its current level of 160 billion dollars within five years.

Turkey is a member of the customs union agreement since 1995. But it has faced challenges in updating it because of obstacles set by Germany, which urged the European Commission in July to suspend preparatory work on negotiations with Turkey about modernizing the union.

Germany claimed that Turkey was violating human rights after it arrested 10 activists, including a German national, accusing them of backing terrorist organizations.

Despite Berlin’s opposition to update the customs union agreement, Germany is considered Turkey’s top trade partner.

Trade volume between the two countries reaches 40 billion dollars, and around 8,000 German companies invest in different Turkish economic sectors, according to Zeybekci.

Meanwhile, Lukoil, Russia’s No.2 oil producer, said it would continue working on European projects and would keep its retail net in Turkey.

Lukoil Chief Executive Vagit Alekperov was quoted as saying that the firm plans to keep pumping 100 million tons of oil per year between 2018 and 2027 with projects outside Russia and will keep annual investment at $8 billion-$8.5 billion.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
TT
TT

Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.