Kemi Badenoch

Türkiye and the U.K. have launched talks to update the free trade agreement, the Turkish Trade Ministry has said.

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat met with his U.K. counterpart, Kemi Badenoch, in London on March 14 to discuss bilateral issues, and they decided to begin new trade talks, the ministry said in a statement on social media platform X.

Britain's trade minister Kemi Badenoch will meet her Turkish counterpart Omer Bolat during a trip to Istanbul on Friday to discuss closer ties, ahead of the expected launch of negotiations on a new free trade deal later this year.

Britain's Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch paid a visit to Türkiye to strengthen business links ahead of the expected launch of trade deal talks later this year, said the U.K.'s Department of Business and Trade in a statement on Jan. 5.

As part of her visit to the country, Badenoch met with her Turkish counterpart, Ömer Bolat.

Britain said on Tuesday it intends to start talks with Turkey over refreshing their bilateral free trade deal, with a view to including services and the digital sector in any future agreement.

Britain already has a free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey, which was rolled over when Britain left the European Union, which the trade ministry said was now outdated.

Eight candidates are in race to replace British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti have withdrawn their candidatures from the contest.