There is an export import syntax for legacy modules, and a standard export format for modern ES6 modules:
// export the default export of a legacy (`export =`) module
export import MessageBase = require('./message-base');
// export the default export of a modern (`export default`) module
export { default as MessageBase } from './message-base';
// when '--isolatedModules' flag is provided it requires using 'export type'.
export type { default as MessageBase } from './message-base';
// export an interface from a legacy module
import Types = require('./message-types');
export type IMessage = Types.IMessage;
// export an interface from a modern module
export { IMessage } from './message-types';