Forest cooperation between Finland and Turkey was founded on a Memorandum of Understanding which was signed in May 2004 in Helsinki in connection with the visit of the Minister of Environment and Forestry of Turkey.
Based on the Memorandum, a Turkish-Finnish Forest Seminar was arranged in 2005 at the Poplar and Fast Growing Forest Trees Research Institute in Izmit close to Istanbul. The main topics were establishment of seedling stands, mechanization of wood harvest and occupational safety of forest workers, and promoting the social sustainability of Turkish forestry. After the Seminar, the ministries responsible for forestry affairs have made preparations to continue cooperation in the fields agreed in the Memorandum.
In autumn 2008, an Expert Mission from Finland to Turkey was carried out in order to find feasible topics for future cooperation. Finnish and Turkish experts recommended developing cooperation projects in the fields of forest inventory and forest management planning, harvesting, bioenergy, and forest research. The Expert Mission was carried through using the TAIEX funds of the European Union. It is possible to apply the EU funding for the above mentioned projects, too.