Ruhsar Pekcan

Outgoing Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan. Photo: Turkish Trade Ministry

"The company was preferred due to its low price and the need to obtain those products because of the pandemic," the ministry said on April 20. It also insisted that purchases from the company were worth only 51,000 euros and were carried out in line with relevant regulations and the law.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has replaced Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan by a senior ruling party official, Mehmet Muş, and appointed Derya Yanık as the new minister for family and social services and Vedat Bilgin as the minister for labor and social security after abolishing Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah and a delegation of ministers made their first visit to Turkey on April 12 since taking office last month.

As part of a two-day visit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Dbeibeh on April 12 chaired the first meeting of the Turkey-Libya High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Ankara.

Turkey and Uzbekistan aim to enhance their bilateral trade volume to $5 billion, the Turkish trade minister said on April 8. 

Ruhsar Pekcan, who met her Uzbek counterpart Sardor Umurzakov in Tashkent, said the countries can achieve the target with a balanced trade based on a win-win approach.

The volume of e-commerce in Turkey jumped 66 percent year-on-year to 226.2 billion Turkish liras ($32 billion) in 2020, the country's trade minister announced on April 6.

"E-commerce spending to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio reached 4.1 percent in 2020, a rise of 51.8 percent from a year ago," Ruhsar Pekcan told a news conference held in the capital Ankara.

The D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement can be instrumental in enhancing trade relations between the member nations and achieving a $500 billion trade target, the Turkish trade minister said on April 5. 

Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan met virtually on March 31 with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and discussed new ways to increase bilateral trade flows.

"We had a fruitful meeting with ambassador Tai and exchanged views on global and bilateral issues," Pekcan said on Twitter.

As European Union membership continues to be a strategic target for Turkey, updating the Customs Union will be a key step to create a positive agenda between both sides, said Turkey's trade minister on March 23. 

Turkey is aiming to introduce many products to African importers through the African Virtual General Trade Delegation program for female exporters, which will be held this month in coordination with the Trade Ministry.

Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) signed a financial cooperation agreement on March 4. 

The signing ceremony for the Turkey-TRNC 2021 Economic and Monetary Cooperation Agreement was held after Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay received TRNC Prime Minister Ersan Saner and his commission.