{"id":57906,"date":"2026-04-06T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=57906"},"modified":"2026-04-06T22:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T18:29:58","slug":"turkiye-syria-diplomatic-trade-talks-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/turkiye-syria-diplomatic-trade-talks-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"T\u00fcrkiye and Syria Open Trade Talks Amid Regional Diplomatic Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background: #f7fafc; padding: 15px;\">\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>T\u00fcrkiye and Syria have initiated high-level economic meetings in Damascus to formalize growing trade ties.<\/li>\n<li>Turkish exports to Syria increased by nearly 60% in 2025, reaching $3.5 billion, with continued growth reported in early 2026.<\/li>\n<li>The diplomatic outreach, involving trilateral talks with Ukrainian leadership, highlights T\u00fcrkiye&#8217;s strategy of using economic integration to stabilize regional security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>DAMASCUS (Azat TV) \u2013 T\u00fcrkiye and Syria have entered a critical phase of diplomatic and economic engagement, marking a significant recalibration of ties in a theater long defined by instability. The move comes as Ankara seeks to solidify its position as a regional mediator and economic bridge, following high-level trilateral discussions in Damascus involving Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n<h2>Economic Integration as a Stabilizing Force<\/h2>\n<p>The diplomatic thaw has paved the way for the inaugural meeting of the T\u00fcrkiye-Syria Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), scheduled for Tuesday. Trade Minister \u00d6mer Bolat is expected to co-chair the committee alongside Syrian Economy and Industry Minister Nidal al-Shaar. This development follows the inclusion of Syria into T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s list of target export markets earlier this year, a strategic pivot intended to capitalize on the trade momentum observed since late 2024.<\/p>\n<h2>Building Momentum in Bilateral Trade<\/h2>\n<p>The economic stakes are substantial. Turkish exports to Syria surged by nearly 60% in 2025, reaching $3.5 billion, and the upward trend persisted into early 2026. Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) indicates that in the first two months of this year alone, exports climbed 26.7% compared to the same period in 2025, reaching over $666.7 million. The upcoming T\u00fcrkiye-Syria Business and Investment Forum is designed to institutionalize this growth, gathering stakeholders from the energy, construction, and logistics sectors to explore long-term infrastructure and industrial partnerships.<\/p>\n<h2>Regional Security and the Diplomatic Bridge<\/h2>\n<p>The sudden intensity of these meetings underscores a broader effort by Ankara to manage regional security through economic interdependency. By bridging interests between Damascus and international actors\u2014including the ongoing diplomatic efforts involving Kyiv\u2014T\u00fcrkiye is positioning itself as a central node for regional stability. As global markets monitor the opening of the BIST 100, the success of these negotiations is viewed not only as a bilateral economic win but as a test of T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s influence in navigating the complex geopolitical rivalries currently impacting the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p><em>The synchronization of high-level diplomatic summits with concrete trade committee activation suggests that Ankara is prioritizing economic normalization as a prerequisite for long-term security, effectively using commercial incentives to secure influence in a post-conflict Syrian landscape.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leaders from T\u00fcrkiye and Syria met in Damascus to discuss trade growth, signaling a strategic pivot towards economic and diplomatic collaboration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6704,168,3640],"class_list":["post-57906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-hakan-fidan","tag-syria","tag-turkiye"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/diplomatic-trade-meeting.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/diplomatic-trade-meeting.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}