Continuation of int'l trade is crucial during pandemic, Erdoğan tells Turkic Summit

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Continuation of international trade is crucial during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Turkic Council Summit on April 10.

"The precautions we adopt may have a negative affect on the trade between us. We need to implement the most practical solutions in areas such as transportation and customs," Erdoğan said.

"The continuation of international and cargo trade is crucial," he added, while also pointing to the importance of cooperation.

Saying that the national precautions should be in favor of trade cooperation, Erdoğan noted that the measures will make public health a priority, but will also soften the damage to trade.

"Turkey is at war with an unseen enemy, and the Turkic Council Summit will help strengthen our hand in the fight with COVID-19. We are facing a global socioeconomic crisis along with the pandemic," he said.

"We’re working to be able to carry an extra 3,500 tons of products through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars [railway] line," he also said, adding that in the future the railway could be extended as far as Central Asia.

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Erdoğan called on the council members to "facilitate transit quotas, transit fees, drivers visas. We have limited our transits due to COVID-19, but we have never delayed any cargo travel as long as the necessary permits are there."

Saying that the outbreak is also affecting the communications sector, Erdoğan said, "I believe our council will also play a role in developing and implementing work on cyber-security."

Turkey has implemented measures for contact-free trade at its borders to maintain international commerce.

The Turkic Council, founded in 2009 as an intergovernmental organization aiming to promote comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking states, includes Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey. Hungary obtained observer status in 2018.

On April 9, 96 more people died from the coronavirus in Turkey, bringing the death toll to 908 and the total number of cases to 42,282.

Worldwide the pandemic has claimed lives of nearly 96,000 people, and infected over 1.61 million, while more than 361,000 people have recovered from the disease.