Date: 28.05.2024
The Turkish-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce (TLCC) launched its opening event in Lithuania at the end of May, after being officially established at the beginning of the year with the aim of promoting and facilitating trade, investment and business cooperation between Türkiye and Lithuania. TLCC is expected to make a significant contribution to the country’s economy by improving the conditions for cooperation.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), Lithuania’s exports to Türkiye amounted to around EUR 486 million in 2023. Meanwhile, Türkiye’s exports to Lithuania amounted to around EUR 473 million – doubling compared in the last 3 years. Also in 2023, around 280.000 Lithuanians visited Türkiye as tourists, making Türkiye as the number one tourism destination for Lithuania.
According to Sarp Demiray, president of the Turkish-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce these figures can be doubled or even tripled in the near future thanks to targeted cooperation, and the opening of the Chamber of Commerce marks the beginning of a significant new stage in economic relations between Türkiye and Lithuania.
“The economic relations between the two countries have a strong growth potential. To accelerate its growth, there has been a lack of trusted intermediaries who can use their experience, networks and contacts to help build a good bilateral relationship. Lithuania has a very well understanding of business and business standards. It offers good conditions for investment in strategic areas with high potential, such as fintech, IT, biotechnology and high-tech manufacturing. Meanwhile, Türkiye has significant economic breadth and depth and a skilled workforce. It also has strong expertise in many industries, including manufacturing, energy, finance and, of course, tourism. If we can combine all this in the right way, the growth of the trade between these countries will be substantial” said Mr Demiray at the official launch of the Chamber of Commerce.
Karolis Žemaitis, Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, congratulated TLCC on its official opening. He emphasised that Türkiye is an important business partner for Lithuania.
“There are many untapped business opportunities between Lithuania and Türkiye. Both countries have a lot to offer each other – different but unique markets. Lithuania is growing fast. It is therefore not surprising that the country is becoming a hub where not only local but also foreign companies are setting up. We hope that the number of companies from Türkiye will increase rapidly in our country,” says K. Žemaitis.
Turkish Ambassador to Lithuania Gorkem H.E. Baris Tantekin also attended the event. He stressed that over the last years business relations between Lithuania and Türkiye have been strengthening and many significant milestones were achieved.
“The Turkish Embassy in Lithuania strongly supports TLCC. Türkiye with a strategic location in Europe and Asia offers many Lithuanian businesses a gateway to access new markets. On the other hand, Lithuania stands as a key player and our biggest trade partner in the Baltic region. Lithuania has a strong economy and talented people. We have all the conditions in place to expand cooperation between the two countries. That is the opportunity that brings us together today” says G. B. Tantekin.
Sarp Demiray, CEO of European Merchant Bank has been elected as the president while Taurimas Valys, founder of Å eimos Kredito Unija, and Ugurcan Ozver, Chief Operations Officer of EBD Holding, have been selected as vice presidents of the Turkish-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce. Selim Emre Ozkan became the managing director.
The chamber’s board also includes Dincer Eroglu, CEO of Turkish Airlines in Lithuania, Efe Kesen, General Director of Baltic States of Coral Travel, Kristina L. AleknienÄ—, CEO of Baltic Accounting Experts, Umit Atesagaoglu, Commercial Counselor of the Turkish Embassy in Vilnius, Mutlu Demir, partner in the NATO accredited engineering firm Denzay, and Turgay Bekfilavioglu head of ME of DLG Logistics Group .
