ISTANBUL – South Korea's prime minister called for Turkey's support for South Korean companies trying to win more infrastructure deals in the West Asian country, a Seoul official accompanying him said Saturday. South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won was in Turkey on the last of his eight-day trip that also took him to Bahrain, Qatar and Sri Lanka. On Saturday, he met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. In July, a consortium led by Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. won a $697 million order to build a suspension bridge in Turkey. During the meeting with Erdogan, Chung also called for Turkey's cooperation to quickly conclude a free trade deal covering the service and investment sectors. In May, the two countries put into effect an FTA covering nearly all products. Turkey is South Korea's 25th largest trading partner with two-way shipments totaling $5.2 billion in 2012. Also Saturday, Chung and Erdogan signed a deal on boosting cooperation in culture and sports, according to the South Korean official. Turkey, China and South Korea are in talks on the implementation of a project for the construction and modernization of $12 billion worth of Thermal Power Plants, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said. According to the minister, immediately after the United Arab Emirates rejected the construction of the Thermal Power Plants, Turkey started work on a backup plan. — SG
