TURKEY TO ESTABLISH COUNTRY DESKS TO BOOST FOREIGN TRADE
Today’s Zaman
15 October 2009, Thursday
Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan attended the 13th International
Business Forum Congress in Cairo which was organized by the Independent
Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association and the Cairo Chamber
of Commerce.
Turkey will create country desks to further improve its foreign trade,
Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Wednesday, adding that
lucrative investment opportunities are available for the Turkish
construction industry in Egypt.
Attending the 13th International Business Forum (IBF) Congress in
Cairo, which was organized by the Independent Industrialists and
Businessmen’s Association (MUSÄ°AD) and the Cairo Chamber of Commerce,
Caglayan noted that the rules of global trade and competition
conditions in world have changed. While export opportunities have
been declining throughout the world, he said the number of people
involved in international trade has increased. In order to overcome
this situation, the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade and the Foreign
Ministry are working on a new system, the minister said, explaining
that under this new system they will work with country experts and
that country desks will be established to analyze country-specific
issues and to improve trade relations with those countries.
Initially, country desks will be established for 14 target countries
and 25 priority countries, along with countries such as China with
which trade opportunities have not yet been completely examined. Using
China as an example, the minister gave details on how the system will
function by recalling that Turkey’s total exports to China are worth
$1.5 billion, while total imports from China are about $1.2 trillion,
which means that Turkey has failed to develop the necessary trade
strategies for China.
Under the new system, the reasons why Turkish exports to China are so
low compared to overall trade figure will be analyzed and the ways to
overcome these obstacles will be found ss conference on Oct. 26 or 27,
the minister added.
Caglayan said they are also working on a project to establish a
network in regards to the Turkish population throughout the world,
but he declined to give further details on the project.
Regarding the influence of recent developments in Turkish-Armenian
ties on trade relations between the two countries, Caglayan stated
that the trade relations with Armenia can start on the condition
that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is resolved. He added that he hopes
Armenia will become one of Turkey’s trade partners, just like other
countries in the region.
Talking about the improvement in relations between Turkey and its
neighboring countries, Caglayan noted that while Turkey and Syria had
some serious problems seven to eight years ago, now they have reached
a point at which visa requirements between the two countries have
been abolished. Advanced strategic cooperation has been implemented
with Iraq, he said, adding that Turkey’s trade relations with Iran
are also improving. Work on the establishment of a common free
trade zone between Turkey and Iran continues, the minister noted,
adding that this has contributed to the cooperation between the two
countries. Caglayan said Turkey’s exports to neighboring countries
have increased by about seven-fold over the last seven years.
$18 billion in projects for Turkish contractors in Egypt
In an assessment of his talks in Egypt, Caglayan noted that Egypt
offers lucrative investment opportunities for the Turkish construction
industry. He said 49 projects worth a total of $18 billion in railroad,
port, water treatment plant and road construction are available in
Egypt, and added that Egypt’s investment minister has invited Turkish
construction firms to present bids for the tenders of these projects
too. In relation to this, a technical crew will visit Ankara on Oct. 27
to meet with trade bodies and associations to discuss the investment
opportunities, he said.
Recalling that the Turkish construction industry has undertaken ite
this, the export of building materials is still low and noted that
work is underway to increase the export of these materials.
A trade attaché has been assigned to Alexandria, Egypt, Caglayan said,
as they expect trade with Egypt will increase further in the future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress