ANKARA
Trade between Turkey and Germany is not high enough and needs to be increased, Turkish minister for foreign trade said during a bilateral visit in Turkey on Monday.
Prime minister of the German state of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, plus a 90-strong delegation including 35 Turkish businessmen were being hosted by Nihat Zeybekci in Ankara, the Turkish capital, to discuss boosting trade between the two nations.
Minister Zeybekci said that Turkey needed to use opportunities in the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Gulf and the Balkan countries. In terms of cooperation for Turkey in these geographies, Germany is a suitable country, he added.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, trade between the two nations stood at $38 billion in 2013 -- Germany was Turkey's largest goods export market.
Turkey's exports to Germany were $13.7 billion, while imports from Germany were $24.2 billion in 2013.
Zeybekci said the total cost of projects undertaken by Turkish construction companies in different countries in 2013 reached $40 billion. "We can work together with Germany on construction projects in third countries," he said.
Noting that the amount of total direct foreign capital flow into Turkey from Germany was $7.4 billion since 2003, Zeybekci said total foreign direct investment to Turkey over $140 billion in the same period: “This [$7.4 billion] is not consistent with Germany's investment capacity as the largest economy in EU," he added.
Turkey hosts about 5,700 German-funded companies out of a total of 37,700 firms operating in Turkey with international capital as of February 2014.
Responding to a reporter's question about Turkey’s inflation rate, which was 9.38 percent annually in April, Zeybekci said: "The country's inflation has emerged within our expectation level. January 28 interest hikes affected inflation negatively. Our expectations for inflation will be down after June."
Zeybekci also said Turkey is in a disadvantageous position because of the 1995 customs agreement with the European Union, claiming it has to lower customs duties for a third of EU countries but does not benefit from those countries lowering their customs duties in return as Turkey is not yet an EU member.
Turkey is the only non-EU country which has a Custom Union Agreement that came into force on 31 December, 1995, and was a keystone to prospective EU membership for Turkey.
Zeybekci added that it may become impossible to sustain the custom union for Turkey.
Stephan Weil noted developments in Turkey, especially in the last ten years and said these were being carefully monitored and appreciated in Germany.
"Lower Saxony is quite strong in the energy and agriculture sectors," Weil said, adding: "We can cooperate with Turkey mainly in these sectors and also in logistics such as sea and air transports."
Weil added that in terms of investment Turkey had a certain stability: "We hope Turkey's successful developments to continue in the coming period."
Lower Saxony has eight million people; nearly 180,000 of them are Turks.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
