ANKARA
Turkey and Tatarstan can work together in energy resources, Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci said on Friday.
"Both nations have blood ties, and so should seek to further each others' interests," Zeybekci said, after a meeting with Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov as part of his visit to the oil-rich Russian federal subject.
Zeybekci said Turkey provides incentives to Turkish business people to invest in Tatarstan, adding: "This will increasingly continue."
“Turkey has a lack of raw materials and intermediate goods in energy resources, and Tatarstan is an important source of them," Zeybekci said.
Zeybekci also said that Turkey and Russia aimed to increase their trade to $100 billion in a short period from $32.5 billion in last year.
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that Turkish firms have already implemented large investment projects in the region.
"Over 25 percent of our foreign investments come from Turkish companies," Minnikhanov said.
Zeybekci will join the Tatarstan-Turkey Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum. He will also inaugurate Turkish-owned factories in the Alabuga Industrial Zone.
