TURKEY TO BECOME IMPORTANT POWER IN ITS REGION, DEIK'S COORDINATOR FOR MIDDLE EAST

GAZIANTEP (A.A) - 15.07.2010 - Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board's (DEIK) coordinator for the Middle East & Gulf region said on Thursday that Turkey was on the way to become an important power in its region and it took right steps towards such goal.
In an interview with AA, Suzan Cailliau, DEIK's regional coordinator for the business councils of the Middle East & Gulf region, said that Middle Eastern countries constituted a huge potential for Turkey in terms of exports, infrastructure-superstructure projects and services sector due to their accumulated foreign trade surplus.
Noting that both Turkish exports to the Middle East and the region's investments in Turkey could be increased thanks to a stronger promotion campaign, Cailliau said the current 15 billion USD exports to Middle Eastern countries could easily be increased to 30 billion USD.
Cailliau also said that Turkish firms should make industrial investments in the Middle East as countries of the region were in the process of improving their industries and they offered a series of incentives.
Expressing Middle Eastern businessmen's interest in investing in Turkey, Cailliau noted that the interest had grown due to the strengthening political ties between Turkey and the region recently.
Businessmen were eager to cooperate in services sector, banking, real estate and tourism, Cailliau added.