Turkey is keen to cooperate with Italy through joint investment and production, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said Thursday.

"Turkey gives priority to high value-added production, exports, medium-high technology investments and digital economy," Pekcan said during a videoconference with Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Luigi Di Maio ahead of their Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting.

Among the topics of discussion were bilateral economic and trade ties, transportation and logistics, construction and consultancy services, protectionist measures on the import of the European Union's steel products and the update of the Customs Union agreement.

Noting that Italy is Turkey's fourth-largest export market, Pekcan said the trade volume between the two countries fell 20.7% to $7.5 billion in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will continue to support all kinds of private sector initiatives between the two countries," Pekcan noted.

Di Maio also stressed the great potential of Turkish and Italian businesspeople cooperating in other countries.