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Adnan YILDIRIM, Deputy Minister of Economy, Turkey expects the trade between India and Turkey to rise three-fold from $7.49 bn in 2014 to over $22 bn in the next 5-7 years supported by favourable business climate in both the countries. He shared this view while delivering the keynote address at the Turkey–India Business Forum, jointly organized on 8th April 2015 by the MVIRDC World Trade Center, the All India Association of Industries (AIAI), Ministry of Economy, Republic of Turkey, Turkish Exporters Assembly and Aegean Exporters’ Associations.
In his first ever visit to India, YILDIRIM said that he chose to lead the delegation first to Mumbai over other cities since it is the financial capital of the country. He was hopeful that his visit would be successful in bringing about fruitful collaborations.
While YILDIRIM sounded upbeat regarding the growth of trade between the two countries, he eagerly expects Indian government to pursue talks on the proposed FTA with Turkey. He was hopeful that the volume of the intra-Asian trade would rise significantly from the present level of $ 3.08 trillion if Indo-Turkish bilateral trade gains momentum. “The recent international developments like falling crude oil prices, recovering US economy augur well for the economic growth of these two countries and I am hopeful that this would lead to a sustainable bilateral trade”, said YILDIRIM.
Riza SEYYAR, Chairman of Agean Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Exporter’s Association, which represents 60,000 exporters in Turkey, said while India is exporting $6.9 bn worth of goods to Turkey, it is importing only $590 mn worth of goods from the country. He suggested the Indian government and businessmen to use Turkey as a gateway to the access European markets.
Serdar AKINCI, Head of Department, Ministry of Economy Turkey gave an overview of the emerging macroeconomic trends in Turkey and listed the investment incentives provided by the Turkish government.
He informed that Turkey, which ranks 17 in size among all economies in the world, aims to improve its position to 10 by 2023.
“Our economy, which grew 2.9% in 2014, is expected to grow 4% in 2015 and 5% in the following year, “AKINCI said. Shedding light on the expanding Turkish trade, AKINCI said that the total trade volume of the country would rise from $400 bn in 2014 to $464 bn in 2015 and further to $500 bn by 2017. He expected a large share of this increase in trade to come from India.
Speaking at the event, Vijay Kalantri, Vice-Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Center and President All India Association of Industries (AIAI) assured the Turkish delegation that his organizations would pursue with the Indian government to have an FTA with Turkey. Echoing the views of the minister, Kalantri said it is the most opportune time for both the countries to explore business opportunities with each other. Pointing out to the geographical advantage of Turkey, Mr Kalantri said the country would act as a hub for India’s investment in the European continent, North Africa and the Middle East.
The bilateral trade stood at 7.5 bn in 2014 and the balance is in favour of India. Although, over 150 Indian companies have trade investments in Turkey, investment from Turkey is very less, which needs to be raised in view of ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and the government’s intent on ease of doing business.
Earlier, in his welcome address Feroze Andhyarujina, Senior Advocate, High Court & Advisor, WTC Mumbai expressed hope that India-Turkey trade relationship would grow given the geographical advantage of Turkey, its improving macroeconomic fundamentals and mammoth investment in infrastructure. Y.R. Warerkar proposed the vote of thanks.