Haluk Kayabashi: Building joint industrial capacity more important than boosting Azerbaijan-Türkiye trade

The long-term sustainable development of the Middle Corridor will be determined not only by expanding logistics capacity but also by integrating regional production ecosystems, Kibar Holding CEO Haluk Kayabashi said at the 2nd Azerbaijan International Investment Forum (AIIF 2026), Report informs.

He emphasized that the key opportunity emerging today lies not so much in increasing trade volumes as in building joint industrial capacity.

"Particularly in such sectors as construction materials, metal processing, aluminum, packaging, and automotive components, the formation of production networks based on cross-country specialization in the region is becoming crucial for the successful functioning of this corridor," Kayabashi noted.

The Kibar Holding CEO recalled that bilateral trade between the two countries reached $5.7 billion in 2025.

"The leaders of both countries have set the goal of increasing this figure to $15 billion in the medium term. During the period, Türkiye's direct investments in Azerbaijan's economy exceeded $18 billion, while Azerbaijani investments in Türkiye reached $21 billion," Kayabashi said.