By Bosphorus News Economy Desk
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat met Syrian Economy and Industry Minister Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar in Damascus on August 26 with a 200-member Turkish business delegation, discussing a $10 billion bilateral trade target alongside banking, customs routes and the role Turkish companies could take in Syria's reconstruction.
The mission was coordinated by Türkiye's Trade Ministry and organized by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM), the umbrella organization representing more than 150,000 exporters. It coincided with the 63rd Damascus International Fair, where Bolat said around 33 Turkish companies would participate and nearly 1,000 visitors were expected from Türkiye.
Current trade remains well below the target set by the two countries' presidents. Türkiye-Syria trade reached $3.73 billion in 2025, according to Türkiye's Trade Ministry, with Turkish exports at $3.49 billion and imports from Syria at $235 million.
Bosphorus News reported in December that Turkish exports to Syria had already passed $3 billion, before final full-year figures became available. Bolat said earlier in August that bilateral trade had risen another 16 percent during the first seven months of 2026.
Much of the government-level work is being carried through the Türkiye-Syria Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), established in Ankara in August 2025. Its first meeting was held in Istanbul in April, and Bolat said the Damascus talks followed up measures agreed there.
Banking has moved directly into those discussions. Bolat said cooperation between the two central banks was continuing and that he expected progress on Turkish banks establishing a presence in Syria.
Customs arrangements are further advanced. A Customs Cooperation Agreement has been signed and a bilateral committee established, while Bolat said the Syrian side had committed to opening the Nusaybin-Qamishli customs crossing by the end of 2026.
The crossing would provide another commercial entry into Syria and a transit route toward Iraq and Gulf markets. Bolat said transport authorities had also reached agreements on a corridor linking Türkiye and Syria with Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
Work is under way on oil and natural gas pipeline projects as well, according to Bolat, adding an energy component to the effort to restore commercial routes through Syria.
Reconstruction is bringing Turkish public institutions into a business track previously driven largely by exporters, contractors and investors. Bolat said the Housing Development Administration of the Republic of Türkiye (TOKİ), the state body responsible for large-scale housing and urban development, would take part alongside Turkish construction and building-material companies in a reconstruction and development fair in Syria in September.
TOKİ also has extensive experience building housing and associated infrastructure after major disasters, giving its participation a different weight from that of companies attending primarily to pursue commercial contracts.
Turkish firms had already begun exploring reconstruction, infrastructure, logistics and joint investment at a Türkiye-Syria Business Forum held in Aleppo in December 2025.
The August 26 program added the government mechanisms needed around that private-sector activity. Bolat met Turkish and Syrian business representatives in a separate roundtable session, where companies raised operating problems, investment requirements and proposals directly with officials.
Sources: Türkiye's Trade Ministry, Türkiye Exporters Assembly, Housing Development Administration of the Republic of Türkiye, Bosphorus News review and reporting.