Not just tourism, India has $12 billion trade with Turkiye and Azerbaijan
NEW DELHI : The ongoing tension between India and Pakistan is set to impact the Indians travelling to Turkiye and Azerbaijan, who have expressed support to Pakistan amid tension on the border. Tourism is just one of the $12 billion trade these countries have with India.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) data, India’s bilateral trade with Turkiye in FY2023-24 stood at $10.43 billion, with India’s exports to the country was at $6.65 billion and import at $3.78 billion. India was the third largest destination for Azerbaijan’s crude oil in 2023.
“India’s bilateral trade with Azerbaijan has increased substantially from around $50 million in 2005 to $1.435 billion in 2023, with India becoming Azerbaijan’s seventh largest trading partner. During the year, India’s import from Azerbaijan were $1.235 billion and exports were $ 201 million,” according to the official data.
India’s economic engagement with Türkiye has acquired new momentum in recent years with considerable increase in India-Türkiye trade, which crossed $13.80 billion in 2022-23. India’s bilateral trade with Turkiye in FY2023-24 stood at $10.43 billion, with India’s exports to the country was at $6.65 billion and import at $3.78 billion, it said.
“Total FDI from Turkiye to India stood at $227.5 million for the period April 2000-December 2023 and total Indian investment in Turkiye stood at around $200 million for the period August 2000-March 2024,” says DPIIT.
The two countries have seen huge jump in Indian visitors in the past year. According to the data, Azerbaijan received 117,302 tourists from India in 2023, which is nearly double the number of tourist arrivals in 2022 (60,731). In 2024, 243,000 Indian visited the country.
There is a direct flight connectivity between Delhi and Baku, with ten flights a week – 7 operated by Indigo and 3 by Azerbaijan Airlines. India is now the fourth largest source of tourists for Azerbaijan after Russia, Türkiye and Iran. Turkey saw a 20% jump in Indian travellers. As many as 3.3 lakh Indian tourists visited Turkey last year which was 20.7 percent more than 2023 when 2.74 lakh Indians had visited the country.
Several of the hotel and tourism platforms have requested Indians to avoid unnecessary travel to the two countries and some have stopped taking further bookings.