A man walks past the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey on April 1, 2022, on the eve of the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Photo: AFP

Trade delegations from Turkey and Finland met on Tuesday in Istanbul to promote bilateral trade cooperation amid the strained ties due to Finland's NATO membership bid.

The visit of the Finnish delegation led by Ville Skinnari, Finnish minister for development cooperation and foreign trade, aims to strengthen trade ties and cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of sustainability, digitalization and the green transition, the Finnish embassy in Ankara said on Twitter.

The Finnish minister's entourage includes a group of 19 Finnish companies with expertise in areas such as digitalization, bio-economy, green construction and waste management, said the embassy.

2021 saw an increase in the trade between the two countries by 24 percent, raising the trade volume to a record high of $2.14 billion.

Skinnari is also expected to meet with his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Mus in Ankara and participate in the meeting of the Joint Economic and Trade Commission between Turkey and Finland.

The visit by the Finnish trade delegation is widely regarded in Turkey as part of the Nordic country's effort to convince Turkey to give green light to its bid to join the NATO.

Finland and Sweden have recently applied for the NATO membership, but Turkey as a NATO member has publicly expressed opposition to their bids, citing their support to the members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party and its Syrian branch, the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

Xinhua