Turkey’s Prime Minister who is on a two-day visit to UK met with his counterpart Theresa MAY to discuss issues on the agenda. The prime minister's visit to Britain came at a time when Turkey and the United Kingdom want to improve bilateral relations, especially in defense and trade.
Following the meeting PM YILDIRIM got together with British investors to talk about new investment opportunities for them, in Turkey. The PM explained that Turkey had received a total foreign investment amount of USD 10 billion from British companies in the last 15 years and Turkey hosted more than 3,000 companies from the UK. He went on to say any investment in Turkey would mean a gateway to the neighboring region with opportunities to reach countries located in the region with economies growing ambitiously.
The PM also emphasized the importance of Turkey as it should be considered a bridge to nearly 60 countries with a total GDP of USD 60 trillion approximately and located within a few hours flight distance from his country, adding investments in Turkey would therefore be important for British firms looking to expand into these markets.
PM also gave some details about bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Britain adding the U.K. was the second largest export destination for Turkish goods. He emphasized that trade volume between had reached USD 17 billion, close to the recently determined 20 billion dollar target.
The PM drew attention to Turkey's geographical position and emphasize that Turkey was located in a strategic geography close to the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Balkans. He said that the investments to be made by British companies would be important for Turkey as they would be a great opportunity for those companies, too. He said "These investments would enable British firms to enter the Turkish market and open up to other markets surrounding Turkey. Whatever the origin of the companies operating in Turkey, we see them as one of our own companies, and they do not have a different status than Turkish companies”.
