Turkey has urged India to join hands in bailing out small economies from the adverse impact global recession and financial meltdown. It has that the business houses from both the countries should go for more investments and creation of more employment opportunities.
Speaking at conclave hosted by the three apex industry bodies ? FICCI, CII and Assocham- in Delhi on Friday the visiting Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “This global financial crisis is not due to economic instability in one country or one region. The poor nations are likely to bear the burnt of this crisis. We need to rise up to the occasion. Now is the time for making more investments and creation of more jobs. We need to effectively regulate our economy and not go for protectionism. We also need to rely upon regional cooperation.”
Erdogan suggested that Indian and Turkish business houses should come forward and make investments in energy, iron and steel and construction sectors in third countries. He said both the countries, being strong economies, could afford to do so and seize the opportunity for investment.
Endogan is leading a strong business delegation to India as talks on India-Turkey FTA are underway.
He also invited Indian companies to invest in Turkey and said that his country had conducive climate for investment and was one of the top 15 countries in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs). Turkey is also strategically located connecting Asia and Europe and 65% of the workfoce in age below 24 years.
Citing an example of India-Turkey investment cooperation, Erdogan said that Indian companies like Tatas, ArcelorMittal, Mahindra & Mahindra and the GMR group were a part of the consortium that operates the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul and a Turkish company had undertaken the expansion programme at the Mumbai Airport.
Bilateral trade between India and Turkey has increased four-fold from $637 million in 2003-04 to $3,439 million in 2007-08. India’s exports to Turkey increased from $563 million to $1,749.44 million while its imports from Turkey increased from $73 million to $1,689.36 million. In this context, Erdogan called for addressing the imbalance in trade.
Speaking on the occasion the Indian science and technology minister, Kapil Sibal called for a fresh agreement for cooperation in science and technology which not taken place since 2003.
India’s exports to Turkey mainly consists of cotton, cotton yarn, TV CRTs, mobile phones, antibiotics, clothing and apparel, polyester and chemical products while its imports from Turkey primarily consists of poppy seeds, marbles, handloom, carpets, denim, textile machinery, iron and steel, copper, automotive components and coal.
The CII representative and chairman of GMR group, GM Rao suggested cooperation in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, tourism and aviation sectors. He said that Indian companies were participating in oil and gas pipeline projects in Turkey and Turkish construction companies were participating in Indian infrastructure projects. Power sector can be a possible area for such a cooperation, he said.
Assocham President and MD of JSW Steel Ltd, Sajjan Jindal said that Turkish investment in India needed to be enhanced to match Indian presence in Turkey. He informed that more that 60 Indian companies were present in Turkey in thhe form of joint ventures, trade and representative offices ? IRCON, GMR, Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries being some of the big names
FICCI senior vice president and MD of JK Paper Ltd, Harsh Pati Singhania suggested that India can export textiles, spices and meat products to Turkey and Turkey can export processed food, plastics, construction materials, and heavy equipment and machinery to India. Turkish business can enhance their presence in Indian market in textiles, chemicals, plastics. Energy, mining, biotech, pharmaceuticals, tourism, information technology and railway transportation were the segments where Indian companies can enter into cooperation agreements with their Turkish counterparts in Turkey, he said..