As we come to the end of another year, we see that one of the factors most affecting the course of the global economy in 2025 has been trade wars. With Trump’s election as president in the United States, protectionist tendencies have placed pressure on global economic and trade growth. Regarding the Trump tariffs that dominated the first 8 months of the year, the customs duties that the United States will impose on many countries began to take shape as of August. From that point onward, tax increases ranging between 15% and 50% worldwide came into effect. Türkiye became one of the countries subject to the lowest customs duties under this new arrangement. Despite the troubling outlook of the trade wars, global growth and trade volume performed better than expected.

Among the developments affecting the markets as much as tariffs in the global economy was the ceasefire agreement signed in October in the Israel–Palestine war. Although Israel has occasionally violated the ceasefire, the increased hope for peace in Gaza and even a partial reduction in the humanitarian crisis there has been an extremely important development. Following the Israel–Palestine agreement, progress toward ending the Russia–Ukraine war and the talks held in Geneva further strengthened expectations that the war could come to an end. Hopefully, if an agreement is also reached there, it will certainly have positive reflections on the stability of our region and on our economy.

Looking at maritime markets, the one-year trade truce secured following talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping has led to an upward revision in growth expectations for global seaborne trade. While global maritime transport remained weak in the first half of 2025, strong trends emerged in the third quarter. Although global maritime transport will not reach the growth levels of 2024, its outlook for 2025 is more positive than initial forecasts. As a result of these developments, global seaborne transport is expected to increase by 0.9% annually to 12.8 billion tons, with a 1.2% annual increase in ton-miles. Growth forecasts for 2026 are expected to be even more positive.

A pleasing development for our country is that Türkiye, which ranked 17th in the world in vessel tonnage when we took office in 2018, has risen to 10th place this year with 52 million 70 thousand DWT. Over the past five years, while Norway and Germany, which were ahead of us on the list, experienced tonnage losses, Türkiye became the top country among the top 10 with the highest tonnage increase, achieving a 15.8% rise. In the tonnage growth ranking, China ranked second with 9.6%, followed by Italy with 7.4%.

In November, we experienced significant positive developments regarding our country. As a result of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Belem, Brazil, Türkiye assumed the presidency and hosting duties for COP31, scheduled for 2026. I believe that the Summit, planned to be held in Antalya, will strengthen the flow of green financing in our country and accelerate green transformation in all areas, and I hope that the meeting will lead to positive outcomes for our country.

At the 34th General Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) held in London, Türkiye was re-elected to the IMO Council. Thus, since our first candidacy in 1999, we have succeeded in maintaining uninterrupted representation on the IMO Council. I congratulate our Minister, Mr. Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, his valuable team, and the members of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their contributions to this achievement, and I express my appreciation and gratitude on behalf of our sector.

In November, we held the 7th Joint Professional Committees Meeting with the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, his esteemed colleagues, and the Ministry’s distinguished bureaucrats. We conducted an extremely constructive meeting that lasted over three hours.

Our members had the opportunity to convey the issues concerning their sectors firsthand. I once again extend my thanks to our Minister and his valuable team for their close attention to the maritime sector. I would like to emphasize that, as always, we will continue with determination to follow up on the issues we convey to our Administration and work to find solutions. In the new year, our primary objectives will include the rapid implementation of concrete projects for the green transformation of our sector and the introduction of much needed financing mechanisms for the use of our industry.

A new year means a new beginning… Looking to the future with hope, I wish that 2026 brings happiness, peace, and stability to our maritime sector, our country, and the entire world, and I sincerely wish everyone a happy new year.

Best Regards