Türkiye’s Trade with Turkic States Surpasses $62 Billion in Five Years

Türkiye’s total trade volume with member countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) has reached $62.6 billion over the past five years, driven largely by substantial growth through the Zangezur and Middle Corridor trade routes, according to data from the Turkish statistical office, TurkStat.

Türkiye’s exports in 2020-2024 to the OTS member states - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan - reached around $36.6 billion, while its imports to the bloc totaled $26 billion, The Caspian Post reports, citing Anadolu.

The South Caucasus country of Azerbaijan received the most Turkish exports in this period, totaling $12.8 billion, dominated by machinery, mechanical devices, plastics, and plastic products, and motor vehicles, while Türkiye imported Azerbaijani goods worth $5.3 billion, with mineral fuels, cotton, aluminum, iron, and steel making up most of this figure.

Türkiye-Azerbaijan trade relations are progressing, with Azerbaijan’s rich oil and natural gas resources being transported to Europe via Türkiye through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline (BTC), the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Pipeline (BTE), and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) projects.

Türkiye has been Azerbaijan’s largest electricity buyer in recent years, which points to the diverse energy cooperation and supply security between the two countries.

The Zangezur Corridor - connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan - a key route for regional trade, is expected to boost relations between the two countries by reducing logistics costs and boosting transit capacity and volume, while being used as an infrastructure corridor for electricity interconnection - where national electricity systems for transmission and distribution systems are connected to the system of another country - as well as interconnection for digital communication lines between Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

Turkish contractors are taking part in major projects in Azerbaijan, such as in housing and airport construction, as well as water, electricity, and energy transmission lines.

The latest data comes ahead of the 12th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the OTS, set for next Monday and Tuesday in the northern Azerbaijani city of Gabala.

The summit will focus on regional peace and security, with participants expected to discuss regional and global developments and sign deals to strengthen cooperation and prosperity among Turkic nations.

The founding member states of the OTS are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Türkiye, while Uzbekistan joined in 2019. Hungary, Turkmenistan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) all have observer status in the group.