Tofan calls for doubling Moldova-Türkiye trade

Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said that relations between Moldova and Türkiye are very strong and are developing across the economic, cultural and political spheres. He stressed that the two countries could set the ambitious goal of increasing bilateral trade to $2 billion in the coming years, compared with the current level of $1 billion. In this context, Tofan invited Turkish companies to invest in Moldova.

While on a private visit to Istanbul, Vasile Tofan gave an interview to the Turkish Anadolu news agency, in which he assessed relations between Türkiye and Moldova, economic cooperation, investment in the energy sector and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on the region, CE Report quotes MOLDPRES.

The official described the current state of relations between Türkiye and Moldova as “excellent.”

Tofan said trade between Türkiye and Moldova had reached approximately $1 billion, adding that this represents about five percent of Moldova’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Speaking about his trade targets, Tofan said the two countries should aim to double bilateral trade.

“I come from the business world. I like very ambitious targets, so we should aim to at least double our mutual trade and reach $2 billion,” he said.

Tofan said annual growth of around 20%-25% would be sufficient to achieve this goal.

“If we increase the volume of our mutual trade by around 24%, we can double this volume within two years,” he said.

The prime minister said Turkish companies have shown strong interest in investing in Moldova.

“There are approximately 1,200 Turkish companies investing in Moldova,” Tofan said.

According to the prime minister, Turkish companies operate in numerous sectors, including road construction, energy, hospitality and medical tourism.

At the same time, Vasile Tofan stressed that there is room for further growth and invited Turkish companies to explore investment opportunities in Moldova.

“We would like to see more investment from Türkiye in Moldova. We are moving quickly, and I believe Moldova can be a gateway to the European Union, an export platform for companies coming from Türkiye,” he added.

Tofan said Turkish industry could manufacture products in Moldova and expand into the EU market.

“We want to bring more of these industries to Moldova so that these sectors can use Moldova as a platform for exports to the European Union, benefiting from the free trade agreement with the European Union and other partners,” he said.

Regarding tourism, Vasile Tofan said approximately 400,000 people from Moldova choose Türkiye as a holiday destination and, in turn, invited Turkish tourists to discover the beauty of Moldova.