Türkiye seeks 30% OIC trade share after $108 bn nine-month flow

Türkiye’s trade with Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries reached $108 billion in the first nine months of 2026, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said in a Nov. 1 speech, according to a Son Dakika news report.

The nine-month flow was 8.2% higher than in the same period of 2025, Bolat said, as Türkiye seeks to lift OIC countries’ share of its total trade to 30% by 2028 from 27%.

Exports to OIC members reached $55 billion in the first nine months of 2026, Bolat said. The report did not give an import figure or a country-by-country breakdown for the period.

Bolat spoke in Istanbul at the second B57+ Business Leaders Summit, held alongside the 42nd meeting of the OIC’s Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation. The event brought together ministers, policy officials, national institutions, chambers of commerce, investors, multinational companies and business representatives, according to the report.

“Geopolitical tensions, wars, climate change, challenges to food and energy security, disruptions in supply chains and logistics routes, difficulties in access to finance, fragilities in the global supply chain and rising trade protectionism all directly affect the Islamic world,” Bolat said, according to the report.

The OIC, a 57-member grouping, includes economies with more than 2 billion people, Bolat said, citing the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries’ 2026 Economic Outlook report. He said that represented about a quarter of the world’s population, with combined economic output of $10 trillion and total trade of about $5 trillion.

Bolat said Türkiye’s total trade with OIC countries was $87.5 billion in 2013 and rose to almost $120 billion in 2025. He said the aim was not only higher volume, but also more balanced, diversified and sustainable commercial ties.

The minister also pointed to intra-OIC trade and investment as areas Ankara wants to expand. Citing the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade, he said trade among OIC members reached about $979 billion in 2025, equal to roughly 20% of members’ total external trade of about $5 trillion.

Bolat said Türkiye supports widening the OIC Preferential Trade System, known as TPS-OIC, which is designed to lower barriers among participating member states. He said a broader system would increase trade, create investment opportunities and strengthen regional production networks.

Foreign direct investment into OIC countries rose to $220 billion in 2025 from $148 billion in 2021, Bolat said. He added that the 2025 figure was about 0.6% higher than in 2024, while the group’s share of global foreign direct investment stood at 13.5%.

For Türkiye, OIC member countries supplied $1.622 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025 and about $600 million in the first eight months of 2026, Bolat said, citing Turkish central bank data. He said talks began in 2025 to modernise a 1981 OIC investment promotion, protection and guarantee agreement.

Bolat said joint investment priorities included renewable energy, infrastructure, agriculture, food security, health, manufacturing and technology, as global capital becomes more selective and concentrates in digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, clean energy and advanced production systems.