The prestigious 87th Izmir International Trade Show will be held from 7-11 September, 2018 in Turkey. India is the Focus Country and the Indian Pavilion, aptly called Souce India, will have a strong presence of 75 Indian businessmen from various fields who are going to participate in this event along with TPCI. In this regard, TPCI’s Media and Communication department took the views of Atilla Bastirmaci, Ministry of Trade, Turkey and sought his views. Atilla has previously served as Permanent Mission of Turkey to the WTO and has been Head of America’s Department in the Turkish Government. Present here are his views.
Q. What is your expectation from this Indian delegation and to what extent do you think this will be useful in furthering Indo-Turkish ties?
A. Our core expectation will be to strengthen the close and significant economic relations; to promote trade and investment between Turkey and India. In this regard, “87th IZMIR International Fair” will be an elusive chance to provide a platform to connect the Indian and Turkish businessmen and entrepreneurs who are seeking for business opportunities in their respective countries. For Turkey, TPCI is a main trade and investment promotion authority in India to increase the level of understanding between each other about the industry, the legal framework and the facilitations on investment; to provide strategies for the Turkish business circles to establish or expand their business in India. Additionally, “Source India” show in Izmir will provide Turkey a focus and direct access to potential sellers and buyers.
We see great value and cross-sectoral investment and trade potential for the Indian business society in Turkey. There is mutual interest in enhancing Indo-Turkish trade and economic ties and bringing investments to our respective countries. We believe that through the 87th IZMIR Fair, the TPCI delegation will have great chance to promote Indian products in Turkey. The TPCI delegation will also have great chance -upon request- to meet with the main business institutions, organizations and the chambers of the Aegean Region and İzmir province of Turkey. We are ready to organize meetings with these entities to provide information on potential areas and products and help the TPCI to share new trade and investment recommendations with its members who are interested in doing business in Turkey.
Within the scope of foreign promotion activities, the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey organizes various trade mission programs, we expect that more and more delegation from India should participate in furthering Indo-Turkish ties.
Q. What according to you are areas where India and Turkey come together particularly related to business and trade ties?
A. Turkey is a highly growing market for global trade. Beside its strategic location between Europe and Asia, it is also a country of a very attractive destination for foreign investment. Turkey’s economy is driven predominantly by the exporting sectors with the automotive components, construction machinery and materials, food and food processing, dry and fresh fruits, consumer electronics and home appliances, jewellery, natural stones, cosmetics, agriculture machinery and products, furniture, textile and machinery, medical devices, pharmaceutical etc. India and Turkey have similar structure in demand and supply, we exchange what we produce. So that we can closely cooperate on the above cited sectors and share our experience on various service sectors like contracting, consulting and engineering for construction and tourism. We also see great potentials between our countries especially in services sectors such as construction, engineering projects for construction, tourism, health & religious tourism, health care and treatment sectors.
