The 63rd Damascus International Fair kicks off on Tuesday in the Syrian capital to offer major joint investment and local production opportunities for Türkiye and Syria, Türkiye’s trade minister told Anadolu.
Omer Bolat stated that businesspeople from the two countries will gather for a roundtable discussion at Syria’s longest-standing and most prestigious global trade event.
He mentioned that more than 800 firms from 44 countries attended the event alongside two million visitors last year.
Bolat stated that Türkiye adopts a permanent and sustainable approach founded on a win-win principle in its efforts to further trade relations with Syria, while the strong foundation of the relationship is reflected in the $3.7 billion trade volume between the two countries last year.
“Our trade volume surged over 16 percent on an annual basis in January-July this year, reaching $2.2 billion, something we deem extremely valuable for the future of our economic and trade relations,” he said.
Bolat noted that Türkiye participated with some 33 exhibitors last year, and the event has allocated a booth space of 120m² to the country at this year’s edition, where a variety of activities will take place, ranging from the promotion of domestic products and tasting events to folk dances and more.
“We deeply care about establishing a comprehensive and sustainable foundation for our relations with Syria, reinforcing one another in trade, investments, institutional contacts, and people-to-people interactions,” he said.
Bolat stated that the Sheikh Najjar Industrial Zone in Aleppo will be visited as part of the fair to meet with the city’s business community and see production and investment opportunities on the ground.
“We believe there are significant opportunities that Turkish and Syrian firms can explore together across a very broad range of sectors, ranging from infrastructure and superstructure to construction, from energy to logistics, food and textiles, machinery, chemicals, healthcare, and technology,” he said.
Revival of economic activity in Syria
The revival of economic activity in Syria and its developing production capacity have created new trade and investment opportunities.
Bolat stated that Ankara aims to reach a trade volume of $10 billion with Syria to carry the strong momentum into the coming period, combining it with Türkiye’s advantages, such as its geographical proximity, diverse production infrastructure, logistical capabilities, and the private sector’s experience in regional markets.
The minister urged the two countries to act together in third markets, creating opportunities for each other.
“Sustainable, genuine economic cooperation goes beyond selling and buying goods; it involves producing together, investing, sharing tech and expertise, and jointly expanding into new markets,” he said.
“We hope to see the relations between the Turkish and Syrian private sectors take on a more comprehensive structure, as we believe there’s massive potential for developing distribution and supply agreements, as well as joint investments, local production models, and long-term trade partnerships — our goal is for the contacts initiated at the fair to continue and evolve into long-term partnerships,” he added.
