Türkiye, Kosovo ink trade deal

ANKARA

Türkiye and Kosovo inked a memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in Ankara on Tuesday.

Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat and Kosovo's Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade Minister Rozeta Hajdari discussed new trade and investment opportunities.

“The bilateral trade volume between Türkiye and Kosovo reached $785 million in 2023, and Turkish investments in Kosova rose to $162 million,” said Bolat.

He said Türkiye is the sixth largest investor in Kosovo, as there are Turkish construction firms in the country which have undertaken 30 projects so far, totaling at $1.5 billion in value, as well as engineering and consultancy firms, which have done 19 projects amounting to $9.3 million.

“We had the opportunity to discuss the work we’re planning to do and the steps to take in order to develop the bilateral relations in the second half of the year,” the minister said. “We will organize the first meeting of JETCO in Kosovo before the year wraps up ... with the participation of a strong business community."

“Our new JETCO will provide us with a new mechanism to develop the economy of the two countries,” he added.

Hajdari said she is pleased with the MoU on JETCO and highlighted Kosovo's rapid growth, noting that her ministry will continue its efforts to further advance the partnership with Türkiye.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul