The United Kingdom’s trade minister, Kemi Badenoch, met with her Turkish counterpart, Ömer Bolat, during a trip to İstanbul on Friday to discuss closer ties, ahead of the expected launch of negotiations on a new free trade deal later this year, the Hürriyet daily and Reuters reported.
Britain and Turkey have agreed there is room to broaden the scope of their current free trade agreement, which was rolled over when Britain left the European Union.
We held a Roundtable Meeting between Türkiye and the United Kingdom with the presence of H.E. Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom, and business representatives from both countries.
We shared our thoughts on strengthening… pic.twitter.com/6gNkx8bzs7
— Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat (@omerbolatTR) January 5, 2024
“We shared our thoughts on strengthening communication among our businesspeople, increasing our joint investments, and deepening trade between our countries,” Bolat wrote on the social media platform X.
“Thanks to this productive meeting and the determination of our business representatives, we believe that the trade between our countries will reach much higher levels, and will be creating new trade opportunities for both nations,” he added.
“I’m delighted to be in Turkey ahead of talks to upgrade our existing trade deal to make it fit for the 21st century,” Badenoch said in a statement, noting Britain’s services sector in particular could benefit from any new agreement.
“Turkey presents huge opportunities for UK businesses. … I’m excited to start discussions on ensuring our new trading relationship with Turkey unlocks those opportunities.”
Britain is in advanced talks with India on a new free trade deal, and its trade ministry said it wished to progress talks on services-focused trade deals with Switzerland, Mexico and South Korea as well as Turkey in 2024.
