Participating in the programs held at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Headquarters, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat first attended the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between Türk Eximbank and Canada's export credit agency Export Development Canada (EDC).
Following the signing ceremony, Bolat met with Slovakia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy Denisa Sakova, and also attended the Turkey-Slovakia Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) Meeting.
Bolat stated that the 5 billion dollar trade volume target between Türkiye and Slovakia can be achieved next year and that there are important cooperation opportunities between the two countries in the fields of defense industry, contracting, energy and investments.
Bolat stated that Turkey and Slovakia have a common stance on many bilateral and international issues, expressed his satisfaction with the strong support given by the Slovak government to Türkiye as an equal partner in its relations with Europe, and noted that cooperation in this field will continue.
Pointing out that there is a strong cooperation with Slovakia in defense industry materials, supply and investment projects, Bolat stated that mutual investments are also developing.
Bolat stated that approximately 56 Slovak companies operate in Türkiye and there are approximately 70 Turkish manufacturers in Slovakia, and that Türkiye hosts approximately 267 thousand tourists from Slovakia.
Stating that they expect the number of investors and tourists to increase with the development of bilateral relations, Bolat explained that they are pleased that Slovakia wants to cooperate with Türkiye in the field of contracting and consultancy services.
Minister of Commerce Bolat stated that Slovakia plans to build 100 thousand houses in the next 5 years and pointed out the strength of the Turkish contracting sector in the international arena.
Bolat said, "Turkish contractors are very competitive and talented. We have the second largest contracting sector in the world after China. Turkish contractors are ready to do excellent work in Slovakia." he said.
Stating that Turkish companies can undertake tasks not only in housing projects but also in liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, cargo ports and other energy projects, Bolat noted that Slovakia is carrying out a comprehensive program in the field of green transformation and that Turkish investors can contribute to the successful implementation of this program.
Stating that cooperation between the export credit institutions of the two countries will be strengthened, Bolat said that it is planned to sign a memorandum of understanding between Türk Eximbank and Slovakia's export credit institution after the meeting.
Bolat stated that increasing the cooperation of export credit institutions will support the activities of entrepreneurs and contribute to the further development of commercial relations between the two countries.
Bolat also touched upon the legal regulations regarding public procurement in Türkiye and stated that the Turkish Grand National Assembly adopted a law that gives the President the authority to issue decisions to ensure equal tender rights between EU and Turkish bidders in public procurement.
Stating that the JETCO meeting, bilateral meetings, business people's round table meeting and agreements to be signed will make a significant contribution to the development of economic relations between Turkey and Slovakia, Bolat expressed his hope that the cooperation between the two countries will be strengthened on the basis of mutual benefit.
Slovakia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Denisa Sakova stated that they have a strong cooperation with Türkiye in the field of automotive industry and that they want to extend this cooperation to different sectors.
Stating that they have created resilient supply chains for the automotive industry together with Türkiye, Sakova said, "We have built resilient supply chains for our automotive industry and we want to continue this excellent cooperation." he said.
Emphasizing that they aim to diversify economic relations with Turkey, Sakova said, "We want to explore other areas in which we can cooperate with Turkey in the future. These include energy, transportation, agriculture, environmental protection, water management, science, space industry and food technologies." he said.
Stating that the Turkey-Slovakia Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting is an important platform for evaluating new cooperation opportunities, Sakova said that the committee allows the discovery of potential areas of cooperation between the two countries.
Sakova thanked Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat for hosting and organizing the meeting and stated that they hope to meet again within the scope of the Transportation, Logistics and Investment Forum, which is planned to be held in January.
Expressing his optimism about the future of economic cooperation between Türkiye and Slovakia, Sakova said, "We see our cooperation as a really big shining star in the future." made his assessment.
After the meeting, the Turkey-Slovakia First Term JETCO Protocol and a memorandum of understanding between Türk Eximbank and Slovakia Eximbanka SR were signed between Turkey and Slovakia.
Minister Bolat attended the Türkiye-Slovakia Round Table Meeting after the signing ceremonies.
In his speech at the meeting, Bolat stated that the relations between Türkiye and Slovakia have been raised to the level of strategic partnership and that agreements have been signed between the two countries on natural gas transportation and defense procurement.
Pointing out that there has been a significant increase in the trade volume between the two countries, Bolat said, "It is noteworthy that the two countries have achieved an increase of more than 4 times, increasing the bilateral trade volume from 1 billion dollars in 2019 to 4.3 billion dollars last year. With the instructions of our leaders, hopefully the 5 billion dollar target will be reached at the end of this year or next year. Thus, much higher targets will be achieved with the huge contributions of the private sectors of both countries." he said.
Stating that there are mutual investments in the renewable energy, logistics, construction, metal industry and automotive sectors between the private sectors of the two countries, Bolat stated that there are already agreements on the promotion and protection of investments and the prevention of double taxation.
Bolat stated that the JETCO mechanism has been established between Turkey and Slovakia and that there are agreements in the fields of energy and transportation, and said, "With the participation of business people, an agreement has been reached to organize the Slovakia Logistics and Investment Forum in Istanbul at the beginning of next year, hopefully in January." he said.
Bolat also stated that a signing ceremony was held between Turkish Eximbank and Slovakia Eximbank for the mutual cooperation of the two countries, and stated that this will contribute to the development of economic relations.
Bolat expressed his satisfaction with Slovakia's support for the development of industrial integration and economic relations between Türkiye and the European Union (EU).
