A market with high potential for Italian companies, with new opportunities thanks to the incentive plan.

Turkey confirms its position as a high-potential market for Italian exports, while a new incentive plan recently announced by Ankara creates new opportunities for business internationalization, in line with Rome’s foreign policy priorities. This topic was explored in depth during the event “Turkey Country Presentation: Opportunities for Italian Businesses”, organized today at the Yunus Emre Enstitusu Turkish Cultural Center by Simest, Unioncamere and Invest in Turkiye. The initiative brought together Italian and Turkish institutional representatives, entities of the Italian economic system and economic operators engaged in supporting exports and industrial cooperation. The meeting provided businesses with an updated overview of the Turkish market, sectors with the highest potential and the tools available to initiate or consolidate international growth. The Turkish market is considered strategic for Italian exports: the country is in fact among the most promising emerging countries in the Farnesina Export Action Plan.

Among other people, the Italian Ambassador to Türkiye participated in the event. Joseph MANZO (via video link), Turkish Ambassador to Italy Elif Comoglu Ulgenthe Director General of Growth and Export Promotion at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) Mauro Battocchi, and various representatives of the Italian system: Giovanni Dioguardi, responsible for network development and international business projects at Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Cdp); Paola Valerio, Head of Institutional Affairs at Sace; Francesca Alicata, director of external relations at Simest; And Pierre Infante, Responsible for internationalization at Unioncamere. The parties explored the financial, insurance and support tools available to Italian companies in their efforts to access and consolidate foreign markets.

A subsequent session was dedicated to opportunities for industrial cooperation between the two countries, with contributions from Gino Costa (Invest in Türkiye – Investment and Financing Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye), Enrico Maria Bagnasco (President of Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and CEO of Sparkle), Corrado Maria Alberto (vice-president of Confapi), Stefano Kasłowski (President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Istanbul) and Valerie Centinaro (Head of the Opportunities, Financial Advice and European Projects department at Promos Italia). The meeting analyzed Italian tools to support internationalization, as well as investment and industrial cooperation opportunities. It also featured first-hand business testimonials from Sisal – Flutter Group, Edison, Uber Ros and Cesi.

During the event, it was highlighted that Turkey and Italy have been linked “for centuries” by their history, culture and economic exchanges. The objective of reaching 40 billion euros in trade by 2030, set by the Prime Minister, remains confirmed. Giorgia Meloni and by the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan At the summit held in Rome last year, this highlighted an economic relationship that now aims to consolidate and further develop in high-growth sectors such as renewable energy, defense and aerospace, digital technologies, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. In this context, it was emphasized that the responsibility for development falls not only on institutions but also on entrepreneurs. To date, around 1,600 Italian companies are successfully operating in Türkiye in various sectors. The country’s geographical location, its role as a “bridge” between Europe, Asia and the Middle East and the presence of dynamic industrial supply chains make the Turkish market a particularly attractive partner for Italian companies, both commercially and in terms of productive and technological collaboration.

According to Promos Italia calculations based on Istat Coeweb 2025 and 2024 data, Italian exports to Turkey reached 13.7 billion euros in 2025. The main sectors of Italian exports to the Turkish market are machinery, with around 3 billion euros; the manufacturing industry, with 2.3 billion euros; transport, with 1.7 billion euros; metals, with 1.2 billion euros; chemical products, with 1.2 billion euros; and textiles, also with around 1.2 billion euros. Lombardy contributes significantly to trade, with 3.3 billion euros in exports to Turkey, including 1.2 billion euros from Milan. On the import front, Italy imported 12.4 billion euros worth of goods from Turkey, an increase of 3% year-on-year. The main manufactured products imported are transport equipment, worth around 3 billion euros, metals, worth 2 billion euros, and textiles, worth 1.3 billion euros. Here too, Lombardy plays a key role, with 3.7 billion euros of imports from Turkey, of which 1.7 billion euros concern Milan. The data highlights an intense and complex economic relationship, characterized by strong integration between manufacturing supply chains.

Despite a contraction in Italian exports in 2025, Turkey remains an important market for Italy’s manufacturing industry, particularly for machinery, industrial components, chemicals, metals, textiles and transportation. These sectors offer the potential for new opportunities for collaboration, investment and trade. The potential of the Turkish market is also evident in the forecasts for the next three years, developed by Unioncamere’s SEI platform (sostegnoexport.it) and based on the macroeconomic scenario of the International Monetary Fund (IMF): Italian-Turkish trade is expected to gradually strengthen during the 2026-2028 triennium, with an estimated total value increasing from 26.4 billion euros to 27.8 billion euros, and a trade balance favorable to Italy maintained at positive levels. (with an estimated peak of 1.20 billion euros in 2026).

About a month ago, Turkey announced a broad program of investment reforms, aimed at increasing exports of goods and services, repatriating capital and positioning the financial center of Istanbul as a key regional hub. Last week, the Turkish Parliament approved a tax reform plan that includes long-term incentives aimed at attracting foreign capital, international wealth and multinational business activities. The bill extends tax breaks linked to the Istanbul financial hub while introducing new exemptions for Turkish citizens returning home and for companies operating globally. The Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek He said the government aimed to create a competitive trading system similar to that of Asia, citing Singapore, Hong Kong and the Maldives. Among the key points, the new law introduces a preferential tax regime for those who transfer their tax residence to Turkey, benefiting from a total exemption for twenty years on income earned abroad. Income earned in the country will continue to be subject to ordinary tax. The reform package also includes a reduction in inheritance tax, which will drop to 1% for people eligible for the special regime.

During the event “Turkey Country Presentation: Opportunities for Italian Businesses”, Unioncamere’s commitment to supporting businesses in international markets was highlighted. This includes detailed information on opportunities and markets, tailored training, orientation and support. The program offers diversified options based on export propensity and the main geographic areas of the Farnesina Export Action Plan, such as Turkey, a country defined as strategic for the expansion of export flows to the Middle East and Central Asian markets, as well as for industrial partnerships and investments. Two chambers of commerce operate in Türkiye – in Istanbul and Izmir – with more than 1,200 members. The President of the Istanbul Chamber, Stefano Kaslowski, He said that the economic relationship between Italy and Turkey is not simply a commercial partnership, but a collaboration built over time, based on mutual trust, industrial complementarity and a common commitment to create value through innovation, production and investment.

According to Valeria Centinaro, head of the Opportunities, Financial Advice and European Projects department at Promos Italia, it is essential to make the already strong bilateral cooperation more structured and more accessible to SMEs. The real challenge today, Centinaro stressed, is not simply to increase exports, but rather to improve cooperation through concrete partnerships and in the supply chain. Enrico Maria Bagnasco, President of Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and CEO of Sparkle, highlighted that Turkey is active on the African continent, especially in North Africa. The invitation, Bagnasco said, “also aims to examine projects in Africa, for the benefit of the Italian and Turkish industrial sectors, within the framework of a joint venture, taking advantage of the tools and financial capacities of both countries.” During the event at the Yunus Emre Institute, emphasis was also placed on the fact that economic cooperation and cultural dialogue can support and strengthen each other. In this regard, it was highlighted that up to three thousand Turkish students study at the Polytechnic University of Turin, which testifies to a friendly relationship between Turkey and Italy that goes beyond economic borders.

For Unioncamere, today’s initiative is part of a process aimed at strengthening interinstitutional cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and other actors in the Italian internationalization system. This initiative aims to raise awareness among Italian businesses – with the support of its network of Italian chambers of commerce abroad, coordinated by Assocamerestero, and the Chambers of Commerce Internationalization Agency (Promos Italia) – of the potential of the Turkish market through a series of information, training, orientation and support services for foreign markets.

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