TURKEY’S TRADE WITH WESTERN BALKANS: LOOKING BEYOND THE TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY

Abstract

In this paper, through the use of the model of trade gravity, the aim is to analyze the trade between Turkey and the countries of the Western Balkans, looking beyond Turkey’s foreign policy. In Turkish foreign policy, trade with the region and investment in the region is of particular importance. Even economic-trade relations are among the main elements of Turkish foreign policy. The dependent variable represents Turkey’s exports and imports to the Western Balkan countries for the period 2009-2019, while the independent variables are the GDP of Turkey and the Western Balkan countries, the distance between the capitals of Turkey and these countries, the number of the population of Turkey and these countries, the common language and colonial ties. Thus, through the Panel data for ten years period, the trade between Turkey and the Western Balkans has been analyzed. Turkey should make greater efforts to increase trade volume with the countries of the Western Balkans so that its interest in these countries does not remain only rhetoric but is concretized with adequate political and economic actions.