President Gül Participates in Turkey-Poland Business Forum
06.03.2014
Attending the closing session of the Turkey-Poland Business Forum along with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, President Gül delivered an address during which he said the volume of trade between the two countries has increased ten-fold in the last decade and pointed to the many cooperation areas and huge potential that Turkey and Poland should seize.
President Abdullah Gül along with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski attended the Turkey-Poland Business Forum, where he also made a speech.
EXCELLENT RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND POLAND
President Gül, evincing his pleasure to be addressing the business leaders from both countries, noted that Turkey and Poland are marking the 600th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations. He pointed out that there are very few countries in history that have continued such an intense and long lasting relationship as Turkey and Poland have enjoyed.
Declaring the existing bilateral relations between Turkey and Poland to be excellent, President Gül congratulated Poland on the 25th anniversary of its transition to democracy, the 15th anniversary of its membership in NATO and the 10th anniversary of its membership in the EU. Poland, he said, is one of the European countries that have been least affected by the global economic crisis.
GREAT POTENTIAL TO BE SEIZED BY BOTH COUNTRIES
Explaining that Turkey and Poland, two allies in NATO, have the same approach regarding the defense issues, President Gül noted that the two countries which enjoy such a good historical relationship and alliance should seize the existing great potential in terms of trade relations. The macroeconomic balances of both countries are very solid, declared the President, adding: “In 2002, our volume of trade was only 582 million dollars. In the last decade, this figure has risen to 5.2 billion dollars, which is almost a ten-fold increase. We are pursuing a win-win policy in our trade relations. We can double this volume in ten years. We have similar economies. Both countries are very good at such industries as the automotive and house appliances. Both countries import end goods and middle goods. This fact is not an hindrance but an opportunity indeed. When we look at the great volume of trade between similar economies such as Germany and France and the US and Canada, we see that Turkey and Poland can enjoy a greater volume of trade than they currently have.”
TURKEY-EU TRADE RELATIONS
The President further reiterated that Turkey and Poland are members of the Eropean Customs Union and when he said “although Turkey, which is a negotiating country with the EU, is not a member of the club and our business leaders still cannot freely travel without visa requirements in Europe, our goods can,” he was applauded by his audience. President Gül then turned to President Komorowski and said ‘Your Excellency will understand what this applause means, as we discussed this visa issue in Ankara.”
Recalling that Turkey signed related agreements with the EU in December 2013 on lifting the visa requirements, President Gül noted that Turkish business leaders and investors are very sad about this visa issue. “While the EU has visa exemption agreements with Latin America and the Russian Federation, Turkey still encounters visa problems even though it is a country which has been carrying out is negotiation process with the EU and which is a member of the Customs Union. Turkish business leaders sometimes send their goods and products to fairs in Europe, but they cannot promote them there because of the visa requirements. This is unfair and a contradiction indeed.”
President Gül further underscored the necessity to raise the mutual investments in both countries and referred to the Polish investments in Turkey, which are worth 27 million dollars and the 37 million dollars of Turkish investments in Poland. He then pointed to the great opportunities that Turkey offers to Polish investors, saying: “Turkey enjoys free trade agreements with its neighbors and it can reach the markets of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus.”
COOPERATION AREAS AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Turkish contractors, the President said, are known for their many successful projects they have completed across the world and noted that the projects they assumed in 2013 were worth more than 30 billion dollars, adding that Turkish contractors can play greater role in the infrastructure projects being carried out in Poland.
President Gül also mentioned tourism as another sector in which both countries can boost their relations and cooperation. “Nearly 500.000 Polish toruists visit Turkey each year. President Komorowoski told me yesterday that if the visa requirements were lifted, many more Polish people could come to the country. I believe that we should also develop our cultural and touristic activities. After all, our relations are excellent and both peoples have great sympathy for each each other.”
As for the defense area, said the President, Turkey has the second biggest military in NATO. He further encouraged business leaders and investors from both countries to get to know each other better and seize the existing cooperation opportunities, continuing: “As permanent peace has not been established in our region, we must keep our military very strong. Our defense industry is enjoing a considerable development indeed. Poland also attaches great importance to the same issue for itself. There are great cooperation areas including seafaring and aviation between the two countries. As a matter of fact, our cooperation in these areas date back to the early years of our Republic. The first model P-24 aircrafts were produced with Polish engineers at the aircraft factory in Kayseri. We can achieve more together in these fields today.”
