WordBulletin

World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan on Monday addressed a business forum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, saying that the two countries should work to boost their bilateral trade volume to as high as $50 billion.

"Our combined foreign trade volumes stands at nearly $1 trillion and our bilateral trade volume is $11.8 billion, which is a sizeable figure but it is not enough. There is no reason that hinders us from increasing it to $50 billion," Caglayan told businesspeople participating in the forum.

Caglayan said Turkey was able to boost its foreign trade at a time when European countries and the United States struggled with economic and social problems, adding that his country's performance largely owed to market diversification.

Caglayan said Turkey's construction sector ranked second in the world after China, adding that it had undertaken projects of $244 billion in 2012.

"Turkey offers great investment opportunities and we want you to take advantage of them. We can also engage in cooperation in third countries by joining our entrepreneurial capabilities," Caglayan said.

As part of his contacts in Abu Dhabi, Caglayan also met separately with Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansuri and with Nasser Ahmed Al Sowaidi, chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development.