ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Turkish State Minister Zafer Çağlayan (C), Ömer Vardan of MÜSİAD (second from R), Mehmet Büyükekşi of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (far right), Canadian Minister Peter van Loan (second from L) and Yılmaz Argüden, head of the Turkish-Canadian Business Forum, pose for the cameras during a press conference in Istanbul on Dec. 7, 2010.
Turkey and Canada are exploring the possibility of signing a free trade agreement, according to a top businessman who spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Tuesday.
Speaking during a visit by a Canadian trade mission to Istanbul, Yılmaz Argüden, head of the Turkish-Canadian Business Forum, said Canada was preparing to sign a free trade agreement first with the European Union and then with Turkey.
Canada also officially opened a consulate in Istanbul during the visit.
The visit was jointly organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, or DEİK, and the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association, or MÜSİAD.
“It is too early to say whether we should have a free trade deal or not,” said Peter van Loan, Canada’s minister of international trade. “We would like to consider this after a free trade agreement signed with EU,” he told the Daily News. Van Loan said Turkey, a strong economic performer with a dynamic market of 72 million people, has a “key place in the global economy.”
Disappointing bilateral trade
Noting that the bilateral trade is relatively low, Zafer Çağlayan, Turkey’s foreign trade minister, said Canada had a total trade volume of $800 billion in 2008 while Turkey had $300 billion of foreign trade in the same year. “Unfortunately, the volume between the two countries remained at only $1.2 billion,” Çağlayan said.
“Last year, Canada’s total imports were $327 billion, while Turkey’s exports to Canada stood at $330 million,” said the minister, calling for stronger trade relations.
Çağlayan also called for Canadian energy companies to invest in Turkey. “We were not able to reach an agreement with South Korea for Turkey’s second nuclear power plant. Canadian firms are welcome to bid on constructing the plant.”
“Canada has great expertise in clean technologies and especially nuclear power plants,” said van Loan, noting that Canadian firms are interested in energy investments in Turkey. Canada accounts for 10 percent of the global nuclear energy market, while the country’s nuclear energy industry is valued at $6.6 billion annually, according to Atomic Energy of Canada.
Canada’s Istanbul consulate was opened in the high-rise office tower of Tekfen, located in the Levent financial district. The consulate mainly aims to serve Canadian and Turkish businessmen but does not accept visa or immigration applications. The consulate will be led by Michael Ward.
Çağlayan said a Turkish Trade Center and a Turkish Trade Consultancy would be opened in Toronto next year.