Turkey has agreed to set up a free trade zone with three of its Arab neighbours, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The plan was revealed at a meeting of Arab and Turkish ministers in Istanbul.
The aim is to improve economic relations between Turkey, which remains eager to join the European Union, and the rest of the region.
Despite rapid growth in recent years, Turkey's trade with the Arab world represents a fraction of its commerce with Europe.
One of the characteristics of Turkey's energetic new foreign policy is that it is in large part driven by business interests, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports.
On his frequent trips abroad, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan usually takes a big delegation of Turkish entrepreneurs with him.
