Bilateral Economic Relations
Despite the challenges of the recent years (Covid-19 pandemic, unfavorable TL / Euro exchange rate for Greek exports, bilateral political tensions, insufficient EU-Türkiye Customs Agreement, etc.), the bilateral trade between Greece and Türkiye grew further. During 2021, the value of the Greek exports in Türkiye exceeded 2 billion Euros, marking an increase of 54% compared to 2020. On the other hand, Greece's imports from Turkey amounted to 2.5 billion Euros, marking, also, a 61% increase compared to 2020 (source: ELSTAT).
Nevertheless, although Türkiye is already among the top destinations of Greek exports internationally, our trade deficit reached 440 million Euros in 2021 and is estimated to continue to widen. In 2022, the problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the global supply chains,
have been magnified by the rapid increase in energy and transport costs, but also by the impact on international trade of products from the international community's sanctions against Russia.
In this context, Greek companies, in their urgent efforts to reduce production costs, are looking for alternative suppliers of raw and other materials, agricultural products and intermediate industrial goods. Türkiye is among their first choices, helped by its geographical proximity, the strong industrial base in many sectors and the long standing business and trade relations between Greek and Turkish companies. On the other hand, Greek exports to Türkiye like petrochemicals, cotton, plastics and aluminum profiles are important for a large number of Turkish industries.
Investments
In 2008, the stock of Greek investments in Türkiye was close to 5 billion US dollars leaded by the National Bank, which had acquired Finans Bank of Türkiye in 2006. In less than a decade after, Finans Bank developed into the most dynamic and fastest growing bank in Türkiye. The stock of Greek investments in Türkiye gradually started to decrease after the sale of Finans Bank to Qatar National Bank (QNB) in 2015.
According to Bank of Greece data, the total investments of Greece in Türkiye amounted, in 2020, to 310 million Euros. In the same year, Turkish investments in Greece did not exceed 47 million Euros.
The prolonged memorandum period in Greece led many Greek companies operating in Türkiye to a fundamental restructuring of their assets or to a radical change of their strategies and the partnerships of their parent companies. On the other hand, the general disinvestment and outflow of investment capital that has occurred and continues to occur in Türkiye in recent years should not be ignored.