Syria23 July, 20263 min read
Qutaiba Badawi Leads Syria-Turkey Talks in Ankara on Idlib Free Zone and Border Trade
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Badawi-led Syrian delegation met Turkish officials in Ankara to discuss trade and border matters Syria and Turkey aim to elevate economic ties to full partnership
Idlib Free Zone Push
A Syrian delegation led by Qutaiba Badawi, president of the General Authority for Border Posts and Customs, held expanded discussions in Ankara with Turkey’s Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, with Fadi al-Qassem, the chargé d’affaires of the Syrian embassy, present. The talks focused on developing economic and commercial relations and raising them to higher levels, including mechanisms to increase the volume of trade and facilitate the movement of goods and trucks at border posts. At the Syria-Turkey Investment Forum, Badawi said the Idlib free zone and dry port project is a strategic regional project because of its proximity to the Syrian-Turkish border and the Bab al-Hawa crossing, and its location at the intersection of the M4 and M5 international routes.
Badawi urged Turkish companies, businessmen and investors to study the available opportunities and to engage in serious and durable Syria-Turkey partnerships, stressing the Authority’s readiness to accompany investors and resolve obstacles that may hinder their projects. On the Turkish side, the forum included Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, and Youssef Hassan Khalawi, Secretary General of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development and Chairman of Bomako’s board, alongside representatives from chambers of commerce and industry and businessmen and investors.
Trade Targets and Crossings
At a meeting titled "Free Trade and Industrial Zones in Syria and the Investment Environment" in Ankara, Ömer Bolat said the volume of trade between Turkey and Syria reached about $3.75 billion in 2025 and that the two countries are working to raise it to $10 billion. Bolat said trade and passenger movements across border crossings continue without interruption and that work is progressing to open the Nusaybin–Qamishli border crossing to trade traffic, passengers, and transit crossing before the end of the year. Anadolu Ajansı reported that transit traffic between Turkey and Syria since last April helped energize trade with Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Bahrain.
For its part, Badawi said Syria has entered a phase of recovery and reconstruction and that they aim to elevate relations with Turkey from a phase of support and solidarity to a phase of full partnership in production, development, and investment. Badawi said the Idlib Free Trade Zone and the dry port project form an integrated hub for industry, trade, and logistics services, and he urged Turkish investors to participate while offering incentives including tax, financial, and customs exemptions.
From Support to Partnership
Qutaiba Badawi said Syria is working to elevate its economic relations with Turkey from a phase of support and solidarity to a phase of full partnership in production, development, and investment. Badawi’s remarks came on Wednesday, July 22, during his participation in the Ankara meeting titled "Free Trade and Industrial Zones in Syria and the Investment Environment," attended by Ömer Bolat and Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu along with representatives from the public and private sectors in both countries. He said the Idlib Free Trade Zone project and the dry port in the governorate form the nucleus of an integrated center for industry, trade, and logistics services, and he invited Turkish companies to invest in free zones and logistics projects Damascus intends to develop.
Badawi added that the government offers a package of incentives for investors, including tax, financial, and customs exemptions, and freedom to store, re-export, and engage in industrial activities within the free zones. The Anadolu Ajansı coverage linked the trade push to transit movement through Syrian territory, saying transit traffic via Saudi Arabia, halted for about 14 years, as well as via Syria and Jordan, resumed regularly since April 15.