Turkish-Arab trade volume reaches $33 bln, Turkish industry minister says

ISTANBUL (A.A) - December 6, 2011 - Turkish industry minister said Tuesday that annual trade volume between Turkey and Arab countries had reached 33 billion U.S. dollars. "We should work to bring the figure up to 100 billion U.S. dollars in the next five years," Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergun said at the opening of the Turkish-Arab Industrial Cooperation Conference in Istanbul. Improvement of relations between Turkey and Arab countries was of great importance for stability in the region, he said. Turkey has recorded great progress in the areas of economy and politics in the past nine years, he said. Turkish economy grew 9 percent in 2010 and the country would grow 7.5 percent this year, he said. Ergun said that they aimed to make Turkey one of the 10 largest economies in the world in 2023.