Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat attended the Türkiye-Singapore Trade Ministers Meeting and JETCO Signing Ceremony. Following the speeches at the ceremony held in Noktaule, Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat and Singapore Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Trade Grace Fu signed the JETCO protocol.
Ömer Bolat said, "First of all, I would like to express our great pleasure to host Ms. Grace Fu, Minister of Sustainability and Environment and Minister of Trade of Singapore, who visited our country on the occasion of the COP31 World Environment Summit. We had the opportunity to discuss all aspects of our commercial and economic relations in the productive bilateral and delegation meetings we held with her. Together with the Minister, we signed the founding declaration on the establishment of the Joint Committee on Economy and Trade (JETCO) between Turkey and Singapore. This step we took today is It is an important indicator of the importance we attach to Singapore and the Southeast Asia region. Today is also the anniversary of the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Singapore on 14 November 2015. In this respect, the two countries signed the declaration of establishing JETCO in order to further their economic relations. This mechanism will enable ministers and their staff to meet more frequently, review relations and develop new projects. "It is an important instrument that will allow us to expand cooperation," he said.
Bolat said, "In addition to trade, we are establishing a regular consultation mechanism at the ministerial level in areas such as investments, digital economy, green transformation, energy, logistics and finance. Thanks to this mechanism, we will discuss our economic agenda more regularly. We will be able to monitor the issues we agree on more closely and aim to turn new areas of cooperation into concrete projects. The trade volume between the two countries reached the level of 1.1 billion dollars in 2025. The total trade volume is estimated to increase to 1.3-1.4 billion dollars by the end of this year. "The direct investment stock of Singaporean companies in our country is at the level of 2.7 billion dollars. Especially since 2020, Singapore's investments in Türkiye have increased by 90 percent. Considering the economic size of the two countries and their trade volume and potential, we can say that the current trade volume does not reflect the true potential of our relations," he said.
Bolat said, "Singapore is a very important financial, trade and logistics center in Southeast Asia. Turkey, on the other hand, is a strong production, export and logistics base providing access to the European, Middle East, Central Asian and African markets. We believe that these complementary features hold important opportunities. In addition to developing trade and investment relations between the two countries, there is also a significant potential for cooperation in joint projects to be implemented in third countries. ASEAN members decided that Türkiye will become the 12th Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in July 2026." "The acquisition by Turkey started a new era between Türkiye and the countries in the Southeast Asian region. We also thank the Singapore government for their constructive approach in this process."
Bolat said, "We plan to hold the first meeting of JETCO next year with the strong participation of not only official delegations but also business people from both countries. In this context, we decided to organize business forums and round table meetings in addition to JETCO meetings. Thus, we will be able to contribute to the establishment of new partnerships between our business worlds. Green transformation is another priority area in which we want to develop our cooperation. We wish to benefit from Singapore's successful experience in this field and increase mutual knowledge and experience sharing. On the occasion of COP31 "We believe that our presence in Antalya and Mr. Fu's participation first in Mersin and then at the COP summit in Antalya adds further value to our dialogues. I wholeheartedly believe that the JETCO mechanism we established with the signatures today will give a new impetus to the economic and commercial relations between Turkey and Singapore and will further the cooperation between the two countries with more concrete projects," he said.
Grace Fu, Singapore's Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Trade, stated that she was very pleased to sign the JETCO Protocol and said, "I think it is an important coincidence that it is the anniversary of the FTA agreement signed 11 years ago. After the signing of the FTA, Turkey received very close attention from Singapore companies. Singapore companies have very strong capabilities, especially in the fields of logistics, port management, food processing, energy, especially renewable energy and financial services, and they are very willing to work in these areas. Especially in the field of renewable energy, both in Türkiye, Singapore and Southeast Asia." "There is great potential and significant needs. Considering the capabilities of Turkish companies in this field, there are cooperation and investment opportunities in the field of renewable energy in Singapore. Since the signing of the FTA, our trade has increased by approximately 50 percent and reached 4.6 billion dollars," he said.
