ISTANBUL – International Trade Expo - UK, Turkey's business partner of choice The U.K. Trade & Investment (UKTI) British Business Summit 2014, which will be held in Istanbul on March 17-18, aims to highlight U.K. business expertise and position Turkey as a partner of choice in the infrastructure, technology and financial services sectors.

The British Business Summit is a key strand of the U.K. Government's GREAT campaign, showcasing the very best of what Britain has to offer in order to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the U.K.

The two-day summit, which will be led by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, will bring together nearly 500 business leaders from the U.K. and Turkish public and private sectors at the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel in Istanbul. The summit will emphasize the success of the infrastructure, technology and financial services sectors in Turkey and demonstrate how U.K. PLC can play a key role in Turkey's impressive growth trajectory.

As well as offering an opportunity to hear from businesses involved in the infrastructure, technology and financial services sectors, the summit will give participants the opportunity to participate in sessions that will showcase the U.K.'s capabilities and know-how, offering valuable knowledge transfer and innovational expertise to support Turkey's ambitious 2023 Vision of becoming one of the top 10 economies in the world.

There will be three sessions throughout the event that will focus on different aspects of cooperation and collaboration opportunities between Turkish and British businessmen.

The "Infrastructure is GREAT" session will serve as a platform to discuss opportunities for Turkey to become a hub for third country collaboration between British and Turkish companies in neighboring countries, Central Asia, the South Caucasus and also in the Middle East and the Gulf region.

Vodafone is sponsoring the "Technology is GREAT" session to be held on March18, which will focus on areas where there is large potential and enthusiasm for growth in Turkey: mobile technologies, smart cities, the digital economy, advanced manufacturing and venture capital.

The "Finance is GREAT" session, which is to be held on March 18, aims to highlight the possibilities for U.K. companies in the Turkish financial services industry, through knowledge transfer and sharing best practices.

With the Turkish financial services industry and regulatory infrastructure currently undergoing a transformation, the session will cover possibilities for collaboration between Turkish and U.K. counterparts and open up a discussion on potential opportunities in asset management, Islamic finance, venture capital and infrastructure financing.