Traders’ body, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), on Friday announced that it would boycott all trade and commercial activities with Turkey and Azerbaijan amidst increasing tensions with the two countries over their support to Pakistan in the India-Pakistan hostilities. The decision was taken by 125 trade leaders from across the country at the National Conference of Trade Leaders, convened by BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal-led CAIT.
Apart from resolving to stop all imports and exports to the two countries, CAIT also appealed to the Indian film industry and corporate houses not to shoot films or any product promotion films in Turkey and Azerbaijan and asked travel companies to cancel travel plans to the two countries.
“A memorandum will be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Ministry of External Affairs urging policy-level review of all commercial ties with these nations,” a statement from CAIT said.
“It is deeply unfortunate that Turkey and Azerbaijan, who have benefited from India’s goodwill, aid, and strategic support in times of distress, have now chosen to side with Pakistan — a country known globally for its support to terrorism. Their position not only hurts India’s sovereignty and national interest but also directly insults the sentiments of 140 crore Indians,” Khandelwal said.
India’s exports to Turkey in 2024-25 were valued at $5.72 billion, which amounts to 1.3 per cent of India’s total exports, according to the government’s Niryat portal. On the other hand, India imported shipments worth only $ 2.84 billion from April 2024 to February 2025 (March 2025 data was not available on the Commerce Ministry website), thus running a trade surplus with the Middle-East country.
India exported goods and services worth $ 93.97 million to Azerbaijan in 2024-25, which is 0.02 per cent of India’s total exports. India imports from Azerbaijan were worth only $ 1.93 million in 2024-25 (till January 2025), thus running a massive trade surplus with it too.
The announcement comes in the wake of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia snapping their ties with Turkish institutions and travel companies Ixigo and Easemytrip suspending all bookings to the countries and discouraging travellers to travel there unless for essential purposes. India’s aviation security regulator Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Thursday revoked the security clearance of an Indian arm—Çelebi Airport Services India—of Istanbul-headquartered Çelebi Aviation Holding on grounds related to “national security”.
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