Turkish exports to Russia, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Albania up after visa exemption

Turkish exports to Russia, Jordan, Syria, Libya and Albania were up after visa procedures were lifted with those countries. According to figures of Turkey's statistics authority, TurkStat, Turkish exports to Russia, Jordan, Syria, Libya and Albania rose in the last three years after visa exemption. Turkish exports to Russia rose to 4.6 billion USD in 2010 and to 6 billion USD in 2011. They were around 3.2 billion USD in 2009. Turkey and Russia lifted visa procedures for trips up to 30 days on May 12, 2010. Turkey earned 1.5 billion USD from its exports to Russia in the first quarter of 2012. Turkey and Albania lifted visa under a memorandum of understanding they signed on November 20, 2009. Turkish exports to this country decreased to 241 million from 273.1 million between 2009 and 2010 due to global financial crisis. Turkish exports to Albania rose to 270.7 million USD in 2011, and Turkey exported goods worth 64.8 million USD in the first three months of 2012. Turkey and Libya launched visa exemption on April 19, 2009. Exports rose to 1.9 billion from 1.8 billion between 2009 and 2010. However, Turkish exports to Libya had a significant decrease due to Arab Spring and fell to 747.7 million USD in 2011. Turkey earned 526 million USD from its exports to Libya in the first quarter of 2012. Moreover, Turkey lifted visa procedures with Syria on October 17, 2009. Turkish exports to Syria were 1.4, 1.9 and 1.6 billion USD respectively in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Turkey exported goods worth 172 million USD to Syria in the first quarter of 2012. Lastly, Turkey and Jordan ended visa procedures on December 1, 2009. Turkish exports to Jordan rose to 571 million from 455 million USD between 2009 and 2010. Although Turkish exports to Libya had a slight decrease in 2011, they continued to increase in the first quarter of 2012.