Turkey’s state minister for foreign trade said on Wednesday that Turkey and China could cooperate in contracting services.
Zafer Caglayan said many countries were willing to cooperate with Turkish contractors, and defined China and Turkey as the two leaders in contracting industry.
“Let us join our forces and make business in other countries,” Caglayan said during a Turkish-Chinese Business Forum in Hangzhou, China.
Caglayan called on Chinese businessmen to invest in Turkey as Turkey had started to implement a new incentive system.
The minister also said Turkish Airlines (THY) was eager to operate cargo flights to Beijing and Shanghai every day.
After the forum, Shanghai Textile Association and Turkey’s Uludag Textile Exporters’ Association signed a memorandum of understanding.
Caglayan later proceeded to the Japanese capital Tokyo, the last stop of his tour of the Far East.
Caglayan’s first stop in the Far East was Hong Kong, where he discussed contracting business opportunities, possible commercial and economic cooperation between Turkey and Hong Kong.
Turkish State Minister Caglayan will begin his talks in Japan on November 4. After being received by Prince Tomohito, Caglayan will meet CEO of Toshiba Corp., Toshiba Power, and Japanese business federation.
Caglayan is set to have a meeting with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, & Industry Akihiro Ohata and attend Turkish-Japanese Business Council meeting.
The minister will also come together with chairmen of Aeon, Sojitz, Sumitomo, Itochu and Taisei companies, and call on main investors of the country to make best use of attractive investment opportunities in Turkey.
Turkey’s trade with Hong Kong, China and Japan has been on the rise in years. Turkey’s exports to Hong Kong amounted to 226 million USD and its imports were 100 million USD in 2009.
Turkey’s exports to Hong Kong were up 30.5 percent in the first eight months of 2010 to 152 million USD, and its imports were up 15.6 percent to 72 million USD when compared with the same period of 2009.
Turkey earned 1.6 billion USD from its exports to China, and imported goods worth 21.7 billion USD from China in 2009. Turkey’s exports to China were up 62.7 percent to 1.5 billion USD between January and August 2010, whereas its imports from Russia amounted to 10.7 billion USD with a 37.8 percent rise.
Exports to Japan were around 233 million USD, and 175 million USD in the first eight months of 2010 with 20.5 percent rise over the same period of 2009. Imports to Japan were 2.8 billion USD in 2009 and 2 billion USD between January and August 2010. The rise in imports was 12.6 percent in the first eight months of 2010 over the same period of 2009.
AA