JEDDAH: Turkish Industry Minister Nihat Ergün has called for better commercial ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia at a meeting with Saudi businessmen here. He said Turkish and Saudi companies could work together especially in finance, tourism, communication, agriculture and health industries. Turkey is one of the most competitive countries in a vast geography from Italy to China, Ergun said, adding, “if you want to do business without making any concessions on high quality, Turkey is the right address.” Ergün, addressing the top executives of Saudi companies with a combined worth of over $300 billion, sought the further strengthening of economic relations between the two countries. “Our trade volume was about $1.3 billion in 2002, reaching $4.6 billion by the end of 2010. It is not possible to explain such a low level of trade between two large G-20 members,” Ergün said. “The problem is in the absence of strong trade platforms that could bring more businessmen from the two countries together.” The Turkish industry minister said Saudi Arabia mainly imported machinery and equipment, food products, chemicals, vehicles and textile products. “I would like to remind you that these products are Turkey's most exported items,” he added. “We think it is possible to hit $20 billion in trade volume in the medium term,” he told the Saudi businessmen. Ergün noted that Turkey is ready to extend any and all kinds of support to attract Saudi investors. “Saudi businessmen should not forget that ?stanbul is transforming into an international financial hub. They (Saudi businessmen) could look into Islamic banking opportunities in Turkey,” he said.
