Defence Turkey: DEİK/Turkey-Italy Business Council was established with the agreement signed with Confindustria in Rome on June 14, 1990, and since then has been carrying out studies to improve Turkish-Italian economic and commercial relations. Can we start our conversation with your assessment of DEİK/Turkey-Italy Business Council’s organizational structure and its role in the development of trade relations between the two countries over the last 18 years?

Zeynep BODUR OKYAY: Both Italy and Turkey are two regional powers who share a common history and values, and partnership relations between them goes back many years. Good relations in the political sphere also is demonstrated in the trade scene. Our trade relations with Italy entered an upward trend in the 2000s, and in general terms, this increase has continued to accelerate since 2003. In 2017, Italy became the 6th largest export destination for Turkey.