ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay state visits to Israel and Palestine on May 1st and 2nd.
Sources told the A.A that there have been great opportunities of cooperation between Turkey and Israel.
Israeli-Palestinian dispute seems to be the biggest obstacle in front of Turkey-Israel relations. Instability stemming from clashes in the region has affected long-term investments negatively.
A new forum --''Ankara Forum for Turkey-Palestine-Israel Economic Cooperation'' was established during the meetings hosted by the Union of Chambers of Commodity Exchanges in Ankara this week. The forum is expected to enhance the relations between the parties. The second meeting of the Ankara Forum will take place in Jerusalem in the first half of June.
TURKEY-ISRAEL ECONOMIC RELATIONS
Thanks to the Free Trade Agreement signed between Turkey and Israel and put into force in 1997, the trade volume between the two countries have increased. In 2004, exports from Turkey to Israel topped 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, and imports reached 712.8 billion U.S. dollars.
Defense industry is one of the most important areas of exchange between the two countries. While Turkey purchases high-tech defense industry materials from Israel, Israel imports from Turkey military equipment, such as boats and uniforms.
In construction business, Turkish firms have undertaken several projects in Israel, worth of 114 million U.S. dollars.
The long-standing dispute between Israel and Palestine caused Israeli firms to suspend their direct investments in Turkey. Therefore, finding a solution to political problems is of great importance in regard to implementation of regional energy projects.
As for transportation sector, the Turkish Airlines (THY) is the foreign airlines company carrying the highest number of passengers to Israel.
Recently, tourism relations between Turkey and Israel have regressed. Both countries have been expending efforts to further improve tourism relations.
Meanwhile, Turkish and Israeli firms cooperate in various businesses in third countries, especially in Central Asia.
Turkey and Israel have signed a number of agreements so far, including the Free Trade Agreement; the Commercial, Economic, Industrial, Technical & Scientific Cooperation Agreement; the Agreement on the Prevention of Double Taxation; the Agreement for Mutual Encouragement of Investments; and the Agreement for Cooperation between Turkish and Israeli Customs Offices.