TURKISH PRESIDENT URGES TURKEY, INDONESIA TO RAISE TRADE TO 5 BLN USD

ISTANBUL (A.A) - 30.06.2010 - The Turkish president urged Turkish and Indonesian businessmen to raise the trade volume to 5 billion USD in the possible shortest time.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said Turkey and Indonesia had speeded up their economic relations.
"We should raise our trade volume to 5 billion USD in the possible shortest time, and to 10 billion USD at a later time," Gul said during the Turkish-Indonesian Trade and Investment Forum in Istanbul.
The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) and the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board are co-organizing the meeting at Istanbul's Conrad Hotel. 
The current trade volume between Turkey and Indonesia is 1.7 billion USD.
Speaking in the forum, Gul said Turkey and Indonesia could also cooperate on defense industry, maritime and tourism. 
Gul also said Turkey's national airliner, Turkish Airlines, had launched direct flights to Indonesia for the first time in 12 years, and Turkey would welcome if Indonesian Airlines started to fly to Turkey.
Later, Turkey's TAV Airports Holding and Indonesian Sigma Group signed an agreement to construct airports.
Also, Turkish and Indonesian companies signed agreements on wheat flour, multimedia, nickel mining, and geothermal energy.