Romania says Turkish access to EU would boost economies

By Ecenur Colak and Meltem Bulur

ISTANBUL

Romania’s foreign minister on Monday said Turkish membership of the EU would enhance economic relations between the two countries.

Responding to Anadolu Agency questions at the 25th Anniversary Summit of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in Istanbul, Teodor Melescanu said: "We count on the possibility of Turkey's becoming a full member of European Union."

"In this case it will create also very favorable bases for our context in the economic relations," the foreign minister added.

Referring to foreign trade between Turkey and Romania, Melescanu said that developing the investments of Turkish companies were very important for his country.

He said Romania possessed a lot of advantages, particularly in agriculture, industrial production, the automotive sector and communications.

Melescanu said the current official trade volume of $4.8 billion between the two countries did not reflect the real amount: "That's why we are very much interested in finding fields of cooperation between Romania and Turkey."

"We have agreed in principle Poland and Romania to organize a trilateral meeting on June 9," the minister said.

He added: "One of the most important items we will discuss are issues connected with the security of our countries."

Turkey is among the largest investors in Romania; around 7,000 Turkish companies are actively operating there.

Construction projects completed by Turkish contractors in the EU state so far amount to $6.2 billion.

Around 441,000 Romanian tourists visited Turkey in 2015.