Turkey, Russia move to begin normalization by cooperating in tourism
ANKARA
AA photo
A delegation from Turkey will travel to Moscow and hold a meeting with their Russian counterparts on July 14 in order to tackle bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism, as well as bilateral relations as a whole, in another step towards normalization between the two countries.The visit to Moscow will take place upon an invitation by the Russian Federation and the delegation, helmed by the Foreign Ministry, will be composed of authorities from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Transport, Maritime and Communications Ministry and the Interior Ministry, as well as representatives from the tourism sector, a written statement released by the Foreign Ministry on July 13 said.
The delegations will exchange their views over preparations to restart charter flights between Russia and Turkey, the security of tourists and measures taken to this aim, said the ministry. The meeting in Moscow will also aim to determine new cooperation areas regarding the future of relations in tourism, it added.
According to a recently released report by Ata Investment analysts, recent moves to normalize relations between Turkey and Russia after months of strained ties will make an additional contribution of around $10 billion to the Turkish economy over the next two years.
The report noted that Turkey was located in one of the world’s most risky regions and has not seen any calm periods since the first Gulf War in 1990. Since then, diplomatic turbulence with Russia, following the downing a Russian jet by Turkey last November, has been among the most troubling developments, the report stated.
“We believe that the bilateral economic and trade ties between Turkey and Russia will improve in a short period of time after the current problems are resolved. This will create an additional contribution of around $4.5-5 billion to the Turkish economy annually, thanks to a rapid improvement in trade and tourism relations with Russia, totaling $10 billion of yields over the next two years,” said the report.
These improving ties will also help Turkey finance its current account gap, it added.
After months of disagreement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to revive their stalled bilateral relationship in their first direct contact on June 29, fueling hopes about restoring economic and trade ties.
In the first four months of the year, Turkey’s exports to Russia dropped to $484.6 million, a 61.5 percent decrease compared to the same period of 2015.
In May, Turkey saw dramatic declines mainly in tourism arrivals from Russia and Western countries amid rising security concerns and the diplomatic row with Russia, which was the second largest foreign tourist source for Turkey until recently.
The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey declined by around 92 percent to 41,004 in May compared to the same month of 2015, according to official data.
The delegations will exchange their views over preparations to restart charter flights between Russia and Turkey, the security of tourists and measures taken to this aim, said the ministry. The meeting in Moscow will also aim to determine new cooperation areas regarding the future of relations in tourism, it added.
According to a recently released report by Ata Investment analysts, recent moves to normalize relations between Turkey and Russia after months of strained ties will make an additional contribution of around $10 billion to the Turkish economy over the next two years.
The report noted that Turkey was located in one of the world’s most risky regions and has not seen any calm periods since the first Gulf War in 1990. Since then, diplomatic turbulence with Russia, following the downing a Russian jet by Turkey last November, has been among the most troubling developments, the report stated.
“We believe that the bilateral economic and trade ties between Turkey and Russia will improve in a short period of time after the current problems are resolved. This will create an additional contribution of around $4.5-5 billion to the Turkish economy annually, thanks to a rapid improvement in trade and tourism relations with Russia, totaling $10 billion of yields over the next two years,” said the report.
These improving ties will also help Turkey finance its current account gap, it added.
After months of disagreement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to revive their stalled bilateral relationship in their first direct contact on June 29, fueling hopes about restoring economic and trade ties.
In the first four months of the year, Turkey’s exports to Russia dropped to $484.6 million, a 61.5 percent decrease compared to the same period of 2015.
In May, Turkey saw dramatic declines mainly in tourism arrivals from Russia and Western countries amid rising security concerns and the diplomatic row with Russia, which was the second largest foreign tourist source for Turkey until recently.
The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey declined by around 92 percent to 41,004 in May compared to the same month of 2015, according to official data.