Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan has met EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstörm on the sidelines of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' Meeting in Argentina. Pekcan arrived in Argentina Friday opened her schedule with the meeting with Malmstörm. "It is a pleasure to see our common desire to enhance our bilateral trade relations," the trade minister said on her social media account.

"Our schedule in Mar del Plata is tight but we're ready to bring a new impetus to our bilateral trade relations with our partners," she added.

According to a statement by the Trade Ministry, the meeting discussed the current situation of economic and trade relations between the European Union and Turkey.

In the meeting, Minister Pekcan said that the update of customs union would be a great opportunity to deepen economic and trade relations. "While the EU is forming the basis of trade relations after Brexit, it should take the customs union relations into account as well," she said.

In the face of increasing global protectionism, maintaining the strong cooperation between Turkey and the EU is even more important, the minister was quoted as saying. "The protectionist approach by the U.S. in the recent period makes the enhanced cooperation between Turkey and EU essential," she added. Pekcan also held a bilateral meeting with French Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Besides delivering speeches at the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' Meeting, Pekcan was also expected to hold official talks with the trade ministers from Saudi Arabia, India and the Netherlands.