Türkiye eyes reaching $30 billion in annual trade volume with France by 2030, a senior official said on Wednesday during a two-day visit to the European country.
"In the past five years, Türkiye-France trade has increased by 71%, from $14 billion to $24.2 billion. At this rate, we could surpass $25 billion this year. Our goal is to reach a total trade volume of $30 billion by 2030," Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said.
Bolat arrived in the French capital, Paris, on Tuesday for a two-day visit to France.
In Paris, Bolat met with members of the major French business association, MEDEF, and the World Turkish Business Council (DTIK) France members. He also had a bilateral meeting with Nicolas Forissier, the current Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness of France.
The minister was also expected to attend the Ministerial Council Meeting organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Bolat said that the meetings they held in Paris were productive, touching upon the contacts with Turkish businesspeople in the country and in general Türkiye-France relations.
Drawing attention to the fact that there are about 800,000 Turkish citizens in France, Bolat said that France is the second country in the world with the largest Turkish diaspora.
"Therefore, the successes of Turks in France in education, arts, labor, business, services, industry, and transportation make us proud. As the government, we support them and stand by them for even greater achievements. We are genuinely and wholeheartedly interested in their issues," he noted.
Bolat also mentioned that the meeting with MEDEF was attended by top executives of around 24 French companies that have invested in Türkiye, and continued: "We explained the potential for development in Türkiye-France relations and economic (potential). At the same time, we talked about Türkiye-European Union relations, debates on 'Made in EU', and how economic integration between Türkiye and the EU can be much stronger in general. They agree with us on this."
Moreover, he suggested that the Customs Union between Türkiye and the European Union has created very strong and close ties between the economies and industries of the two countries, providing significant mutual integration and contribution. He added that they discussed the "Made in EU" topic with Forissier.
Moreover, he pointed out that the European Commission's decision on March 4 to include Türkiye within the scope of "Made in EU" was very important and gratifying news.