Economy
Turkish exports to Africa rise as ‘win-win’ strategy pays off
Türkiye’s growing economic cooperation with African nations under its “win-win” strategy has helped boost exports to the continent, reaching $8.4 billion (TL 333.41 billion) in the first five months of 2025 – an 8.3% increase from the same period last year, according to official trade data.
The positive trade momentum reflects Türkiye’s “Strategy for Enhancing Trade and Economic Relations with African Countries,” which aims to deepen ties across political, cultural and economic spheres. The strategy also promotes mutual investments and expands Turkish engagement in sectors such as construction, energy, health, agriculture and infrastructure.
Türkiye has also extended its successful defense industry collaborations to African countries. Leading Turkish companies such as Baykar, Aselsan, Tusaş and Nurol Holding have seen rising demand for their products on the continent. These defense partnerships and related initiatives continue to strengthen bilateral trade.
According to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Türkiye’s total exports to African nations rose by 1.7% in 2024, reaching $19.4 billion. Egypt was Türkiye’s top African export destination last year at $3.5 billion, followed by Morocco with $3.1 billion and Libya with $2.5 billion.
Between January and May this year, Morocco led again with $1.5 billion in imports from Türkiye, followed by Egypt with $1.3 billion and Libya with $1.1 billion.
Trade ties with Morocco have deepened in recent years. Turkish contractors have completed approximately $4.3 billion worth of construction projects in the country. Under the Free Trade Agreement in force between the two countries, efforts are ongoing to further strengthen cooperation.
Top Turkish exports to Morocco include motor vehicles, electrical machinery and equipment, as well as mineral fuels and oils. With Morocco considered a “priority opportunity country” for Turkish investors, bilateral trade is expected to accelerate further under the win-win principle.
Egypt remains Türkiye’s most important trading partner in Africa, with a target of reaching a $15 billion trade volume. Key export sectors to Egypt include machinery, mechanical appliances, mineral fuels, oils, iron and steel. Turkish businesses have established a strong presence in the country, especially in the textiles, electronics and home appliances industries.
Türkiye has also expanded defense cooperation with several African countries, including Libya, Somalia, Niger, Chad and Sudan. Under a 2019 memorandum of understanding on military and security cooperation, Türkiye continues to provide military training and consultancy services in Libya.
Additionally, Türkiye has exported armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Niger, Mali and Ethiopia, and delivered armored vehicles to Gambia, Uganda and Kenya.
The “AFEX’25 Africa Business Forum and Expo,” which opened Wednesday in Istanbul and continues Thursday, aims to further enhance economic and sectoral cooperation between Türkiye and African nations. The event brings together African and Turkish business leaders in agriculture, energy, construction, health, finance and technology, with a focus on forging new partnerships.
Public officials, investors, entrepreneurs and civil society representatives from several African countries are attending the forum, which is centered on exploring trilateral cooperation opportunities involving Africa and third countries.
Looking ahead, the G-20 leaders’ summit, scheduled for November in Johannesburg, South Africa, is expected to further amplify Africa’s role in the global arena and strengthen Türkiye’s Africa strategy.
The South African G20 presidency has prioritized resilience to disasters, debt sustainability for low-income countries and financing for a just energy transition – areas in which Türkiye is actively engaged.
Finance and Treasury Minister Mehmet Şimşek said inflation expectations among the real sector and market participants continued to decline, calling the narrowing gap between household and market expectations “an important development” for breaking inflation inertia.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Şimşek evaluated the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye’s (CBRT) June 2025 “Sectoral Inflation Expectations” report.
He noted that inflation expectations decreased across all segments in June, with households’ 12-month inflation expectation dropping by 7 percentage points compared to last month and 19 points compared to the same period last year.
“The gap between household and market expectations has fallen to its lowest level in about six years, which is significant for breaking inflation inertia,” Şimşek said. “This improvement in expectations shows that the program we are implementing is progressing toward its goal with effective and decisive steps.”
He added that easing geopolitical tensions have led to lower oil prices, and that a continued decline in inflation would create more supportive domestic financial conditions for the real sector.
The World Bank said Wednesday it approved over $1 billion for infrastructure and reconstruction projects in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
The biggest amount went to Iraq, where the World Bank approved $930 million to help improve the country’s railway infrastructure, boost domestic trade, create jobs and diversify the economy.
The World Bank said the Iraq Railways Extension and Modernization Project will improve services and increase freight capacity between the Umm Qasr Port on the Persian gulf in southern Iraq to the northern city of Mosul.
“As Iraq shifts from reconstruction to development, enhanced trade and connectivity can stimulate growth, create jobs, and reduce oil dependency,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, director of the World Bank’s Middle East division.
The World Bank also approved for war-torn Syria a $146 million grant to help restore reliable, affordable electricity and support the country’s economic recovery. It said the Syria Electricity Emergency Project will rehabilitate damaged transmission lines and transformer substations.
Last month, Syria signed an agreement with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and U.S. companies for the development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of its war-battered electricity grid.
For Lebanon, which is recovering from the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war, the World Bank approved $250 million to support the most urgent repair and reconstruction of damaged critical public infrastructure and lifeline services.
Türkiye’s exports to Italy rose 7.5% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, reaching $5.34 billion (TL 211.66 billion), according to official data, as bilateral trade between the two countries continues to steadily grow.
The rise comes amid broader efforts by Türkiye to strengthen trade ties with nearby countries, even as global economic uncertainty continues due to geopolitical tensions and protectionist policies.
Italy remains one of Türkiye’s top trade partners within the European Union, and recent diplomatic efforts have helped boost economic cooperation. In April, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni co-chaired the 4th Türkiye-Italy Intergovernmental Summit in Rome, where the two nations signed 11 new agreements spanning defense, energy, innovation, culture and transportation.
“Türkiye and Italy are two strong allies navigating a period where global and regional developments are pushing us toward closer cooperation,” Erdoğan said following the summit. He noted that partnerships in the defense sector would continue to expand.
According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), exports to Italy in May alone reached $1.14 billion, an 8% increase year-over-year. Italy accounted for 4.8% of Türkiye’s total exports from January through May, which totaled $110.95 billion, up 3.5% from the same period last year.
The automotive industry led Turkish exports to Italy, bringing in $1.3 billion. Other top sectors included chemicals at $777 million, ferrous and non-ferrous metals at $472.5 million, steel at $456.1 million and textiles at $327 million.
While automotive and textile exports saw slight annual declines of 5.6% and 1.8%, respectively, chemicals rose 14.6%, metals jumped 37.4% and steel grew 9.4%.
Istanbul was the top exporting province to Italy, accounting for $1.8 billion in shipments. Kocaeli followed with $727.4 million, Bursa with $514.6 million, Izmir with $327.2 million and Ankara with $208.2 million.
In an interview on Tuesday, Stefano Kaslowski, president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Türkiye (CCIIST), said the figures reflect the strength and potential of commercial ties between the two countries.
“This success is not a coincidence but a result of deep-rooted, long-standing relations,” Kaslowski told Anadolu Agency (AA). “We’ve been bringing the Turkish and Italian business communities together since 1885.”
Kaslowski noted that more than 1,500 Italian companies operate in Italy with commercial ties to Türkiye, and many have strong investment footprints in the country. He said Italy’s role as Türkiye’s second-largest EU trade partner highlights its strategic importance.
The bilateral trade volume reached $28 billion in 2023, and both countries are aiming to exceed $40 billion in the coming years, according to Kaslowski.
He said the growing trade figures suggest not just numerical growth, but a “structural transformation,” driven by improving Turkish quality standards, better alignment with Italian market needs, and logistics improvements.
Kaslowski emphasized that Italy’s industrial strength in sectors such as machinery, pharmaceuticals, automotive and luxury goods, coupled with its push toward green and digital transformation, creates significant opportunities for Turkish businesses.
Likewise, Türkiye’s young population, production capacity and geographic location make it an attractive destination for Italian investors, he said. He also underlined the importance of modernizing the EU-Türkiye Customs Union to facilitate further trade.
As part of its role, CCIIST provides services including business matchmaking, trade fair coordination, market research and advisory support for new ventures. The organization also arranges bilateral delegations, seminars, and networking events.
Recent CCIIST events, such as the “Risks and Opportunities in Türkiye-Italy Foreign Trade” roundtable, brought together sector experts and officials to find practical solutions to common trade challenges, such as customs optimization and cost reduction.
Kaslowski expressed optimism about the future, especially in areas like sustainability, digital transformation and green technologies.
“If the current trend continues, we expect exports to Italy to reach $12 billion-13 billion by year-end,” he said. “But our goal isn’t just to grow in numbers – we aim to develop high-value, technology-intensive and sustainable trade relationships.”
He added that deeper cooperation between businesses, support for joint R&D and investment in new-generation entrepreneurs would be key to achieving that vision.
The world is facing the “most complex” geopolitical situation seen in decades, the head of the World Economic Forum (WEF) told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Tuesday, warning that turmoil was “impacting global growth.”
“It is the most complex geopolitical and geo-economic backdrop we’ve seen in decades,” WEF President and CEO Borge Brende said ahead of a meeting of the multilateral forum in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.
“If we are not able to revive growth again, we can unfortunately see a decade of lower growth,” he warned.
Officials, including Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, will attend this week’s WEF meeting in the port city of Tianjin – known colloquially as the “Summer Davos.”
The meeting comes hard on the heels of the United States’ involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict and follows months in which the global economy has been battered by a tariff war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Brende told AFP it was still too soon to predict the impact of Trump’s swinging tariffs.
It is “too early to say what these tariffs will end with because the negotiations are still ongoing”, he said.
“I think the jury is still out, but the traditional globalization we saw is now changed into a different system,” he said.
“That is a new chapter … especially since trade was the engine of growth.”
Brende also warned that mounting conflict could have a “very negative impact” on global growth.
The governor of the Turkish central bank met with the chairperson and the board of directors of the top banking body for a regular meeting on Monday, according to a written statement.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) Governor Fatih Karahan met with the chairperson of the board of directors of the Banks Association of Türkiye (TBB), Alpaslan Çakar, and the members of the board of directors of TBB at the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC) campus of the CBRT within the scope of regular meetings held every three months, the TBB said.
The meeting discussed the latest developments in the global economy and the domestic macroeconomic outlook, the statement read.
“While the reflections of the recent geopolitical risks on the global markets were evaluated, the contribution of the work carried out in cooperation with the banking sector to the maintenance of financial stability was emphasized,” it further said.
At the end of the meeting, Karahan and Çakar expressed their satisfaction with the close cooperation between the central bank and the banking sector. It was stated that the meeting was “extremely productive and constructive in a way that would support the healthy and sustainable growth of the sector.”
Earlier during the day, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that they are analyzing the multidimensional effects of increasing geopolitical tensions on the Turkish economy and evaluating possible scenarios in detail.
“Our institutions are ready to take the necessary measures quickly and decisively, in strong coordination, to maintain stability in the markets and the healthy functioning of our economy,” Şimşek said in a social media post.
Concerns have mounted globally about the potential closure of a key oil route by Iran, as a response to the weekend’s attack by the U.S. on its nuclear sites.
World shares slipped on Monday and oil prices rose toward five-month highs before retracing gains as investors awaited possible retaliation from Iran following U.S. attacks, with knock-on risks to global trade and inflation.
“Any sign of Iranian retaliation or threat to the Strait of Hormuz could quickly shift sentiment and force markets to reprice geopolitical risk more aggressively,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo.
The Strait of Hormuz is only about 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point, and around a quarter of global oil trade and 20% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies pass through it.
The eurozone economic activity flatlined for a second month in June, barely expanding as the bloc’s dominant services industry showed only a minimal sign of improvement and manufacturing displayed none at all, a top survey showed on Monday.
HCOB’s preliminary composite eurozone Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global and seen as a good guide to growth, held steady this month at May’s 50.2.
That was barely above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction and below expectations in a Reuters poll for 50.5.
“June’s flash PMI survey for the eurozone was consistent with the economy flat-lining,” said Jack Allen-Reynolds at Capital Economics.
“The weakness in activity was broad-based, with the services index edging up to just 50.0 while the manufacturing index edged down.”
Business activity in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, returned to growth as its recovering manufacturing sector saw its strongest increase in new orders in more than three years.
But in France, activity contracted further as weakness in both manufacturing and services hit the eurozone’s second-biggest economy, S&P Global said earlier on Monday.
In the U.K., outside the currency union, business activity expanded modestly as new orders grew for the first time this year, but employers cut jobs more quickly and worried about the conflict in the Middle East.
Overall demand in the bloc fell for a 13th month, albeit only mildly, with the new business index rising to 49.7 from 49.0.
The services PMI nudged up to sit right on the break-even mark, up from May’s final reading of 49.7, as the Reuters poll had predicted.
But optimism among services firms increased and the business expectations index bounced to a four-month high of 57.9 from 56.2.
The headline manufacturing index, which has been sub-50 since mid-2022, held steady at May’s 49.4, defying expectations for a lift to 49.8. An index measuring output that feeds into the composite PMI fell to 51.0 from 51.5.
Factories reduced their selling prices for a second month. The output prices index remained at 49.2.
Eurozone inflation fell below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2% target in May and the central bank signalled a pause in policy easing after cutting its deposit rate for an eighth time this month.
One of the ECB’s top policymakers, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, said last week that the bank will keep doing all that is necessary to complete its nearly accomplished mission on inflation.
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