Restoration of Turkey-Israel relations to boost trade, stats show

The normalization of Turkey-Israel relations is expected to boost bilateral trade volume, which has neared $4.5 billion in the last five years, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Authority, TurkStat.

A year after Mavi Marmara crisis erupted in 2010, over the killing of 10 Turkish activists by Israeli commandos, Turkey's exports to Israeli amounted to $2.39 billion while imports stood at $2.06 billion, putting bilateral trade volume at $4.45 billion.

Last year, exports to Israel amounted to $2.7 billion, up 13 percent, or $307 million, compared to 2011. Imports, however, saw a huge decline of 19 percent, or $384 million. Total trade volume between two countries was $4.37 billion, reflecting the deadlock in political attitudes towards each other.

Despite the tense relations, Israeli tourists have surprisingly considered Turkey as holiday destination, the number almost tripling between 2011 and 2015, according to official data.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said Monday that Turkey and Israel were to normalize relations.

Under a fresh agreement, both nations are to assign ambassadors at the other's capital, Yıldırım said at a news conference at Çankaya Palace in Ankara.

Close ties between Turkey and Israel were broken after a Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Marmara, was stormed by Israeli troops in May 2010.