Trade volume between Turkey and Turkmenistan is likely to exceed $2 billion in 2010 despite the global economic crisis, Turkey's foreign trade minister said on Tuesday.

Trade between the two countries grew by 52 percent in 2009 and it reached $1.6 billion in the first half of this year.

Zafer Caglayan met with a delegation of Turkman ministers and other officials, led by Vice President Hojamuhammed Muhammedov, who are currently in Ankara to take part at
the third meeting of Intergovernmental Economic Committee.

Caglayan told the meeting that Turkish construction companies have carried out large part of their overseas projects in Turkmenistan.

"Turkish constructors have done 90 percent of all construction works in Turkmenistan. Turkish companies have completed 608 projects worth $17 billion in this country. Only last year's projects total $2.5 billion," he said.

Caglayan said he would pay a visit to Turkmenistan on August 30 and September 1 to open a Turkish export products fair and attend the Turkey-Turkmenistan Business Council meeting.

On his part, Muhammedov said that trade between the two countries was growing day by day. He said it increased by 2.5-fold in the first half of 2010 over the same half of 2009.

Turkey is the second-largest trade partner of Turkmenistan, he said.


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