Erdogan, Netanyahu plan meeting to ease Türkiye-Israel tensions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may meet as soon as July.

The main topic of the meeting in Ankara will be the supply of Israeli natural gas to Europe via Türkiye, according to Bloomberg.

Türkiye's rapprochement with Israel began in mid-2021. The countries resumed diplomatic relations in full last August.

Bilateral trade between Türkiye and Israel is growing and tourism is booming, as cruise lines resume flights and Israeli companies open direct flights to Turkish resorts such as Antalya and Bodrum.

More than 1 million Israeli tourists are expected to visit Türkiye this year, up from 843,000 in 2022.

Türkiye's exports to Israel rose 11 per cent to $7 billion last year, while imports were about $2.5 billion, according to Turkish government officials.

Israeli companies are looking to do more business with Türkiye. Israel mainly imports steel, iron and other construction materials from Türkiye.