A large Israeli trade delegation was scheduled to arrive in Turkey on Monday to meet with exporters as the Middle East nations repair ties, Bloomberg reported.
The two-day meeting is expected to bring together representatives from around 60 Israeli companies with Turkish exporters. It’s the latest sign of a growing thaw in relations that nosedived in 2010 over a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish flotilla headed to the Gaza Strip.
“The recent normalization of Turkey’s relations with Israel reflects positively on the trade relations of the two countries,” the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, which is hosting the Israeli business delegation, said in a statement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is working to repair strained regional ties as part of a broader realignment that’s seen rivals heal rifts and draw down from conflicts. That’s happening as the US has stepped back from the region. Erdoğan luring funds from countries in the region and increasing Turkish exports are also key for averting a deeper economic slowdown while alleviating a cost-of-living crisis ahead of next year’s elections.
Turkey and Israel have both appointed respective ambassadors since September and fully restored diplomatic contacts. Relations with Israel had frayed after Erdoğan took power in 2003.