Turkey will extend its fullest support to boost bilateral trade with Sri Lanka which is below potential to a higher level in the coming years, said Turkish Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, R. Demet Sekercioglu.
She was speaking from Ankara via zoom during a bilateral business forum in Colombo organised by the National Chamber of Commerce last week.
Turkey expects bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Sri Lanka to be further strengthened with mutual help to boost the economies through trade and investments, the Ambassador said.
Bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Turkey stood at around USD 180 million in 2021 leaving ample room for growth through product diversification and exploration of new areas.
Turkey being at the cross-roads of Europe, Africa and the Middle East remains a vital destination for global trade.
With a population of 83.4 million as of 2021, Turkey has the world’s 20th largest nominal GDP and 11th-largest GDP by PPP.
The country is among the world’s leading producers of agricultural products, textiles, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, construction materials, consumer electronics and home appliances.
Both countries have maintained healthy relations since commencing diplomatic ties. Turkey was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations following Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu during his visit to Colombo which marked the signing of the agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation said Turkiye aims to strengthen its relations with Asian countries and considers Sri Lanka as «an extremely valuable and important ally».
Cavusoglu said Turkey is more aware of the fact that Asia is particularly an economic powerhouse. Turkey considers Sri Lanka as the “pearl of the Indian Ocean” and an “extremely valuable and important ally,” he said.
He said the bilateral trade volume has reached pre-pandemic levels, adding that the potential is much higher.
The Turkish Foreign Minister noted both countries could help each other to improve relations in health, pharmaceutics, construction, and tourism fields and added that Turkey is ready to share its experiences on «safe tourism.”
Both countries identified the need to further diversify trade and work steadily towards the achievement of the US$ 500 million per annum trade volume target, according to observations made at the second session of the Sri Lanka-Turkey Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (JCETC) held in June 2021.
The promotion of investment and business-to- business linkages, enhancement of tourism and connectivity, and potential new areas of collaboration were discussed at the meeting. Turkish Airlines aims to increase the number of flights to Sri Lanka from 11 to 14 per week as of September, he said. These flights from Istanbul and Colombo make an important contribution to the relationship between the countries.
The two Minsters also deliberated on other areas of mutual interest comprising defense, security and counter-terrorism cooperation, and looked forward to the exchange of high-level visits in the future.
Turkey provided medical aid through the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in 2021 to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the humanitarian assistance extended in terms of housing construction in southern Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.
Steel, iron, synthetic staple fibers, electrical machines and tools are some of the main imports of Sri Lanka from Turkey while clothes and accessories, coffee, tea are exported to Turkey.
The second Meeting of Turkey-Sri Lanka Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was held in Ankara in November 2016.