Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek is in India to enhance the annual volume of bilateral trade between India and Turkey, which currently stands at a mere $7.5 billion compared with the over 1.2 trillion dollars worth of total external trade done by both countries.

Although the current volume of bilateral trade is tilted heavily (90:10) in India’s favour, Simsek said, in an interview to BusinessLine , that he was not bothered about the tilt, but the overall low volume of trade and investment that needed to be lifted.

Terming India as a very important and desirable strategic partner, Simsek invited Indian investments in energy, especially renewable sources, as well as information technology sector.

Sharing expertise

Dropping into the commercial capital of Mumbai, a day ahead of his visit to New Delhi where he plans to meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Simsek had a round of meetings with some top industrialists to sell Turkey as a place to do business.

He also said that the two countries had a lot to learn from each other, adding that they could share their expertise in various fields.

He said that Turkey had a good manufacturing base and a supportive eco system that would help Indian companies that want to expand into the Central Asian and European neighbourhood.

Supporting the ‘Make in India’ initiative, he said India could use the expertise of Turkey in infrastructure and construction industries where Turkish companies have significant global exposure. He said that since Turkey was a member of the customs union with European Union, a free trade agreement (FTA) that India may sign with EU will be like signing an agreement with Turkey. He added that Turkey had a well-diversified economy and would, along with India and China, be among the top beneficiaries of lower oil prices.

Current account

Turkey imported $56 billion worth of oil last year. He said that every $10 decline in oil prices would reduce Turkey’s current account deficit by 0.5% of its GDP.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW