President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay an official visit to the U.K. on May 13-15 to attend the seventh Turkish-British Tatlidil Forum in southern England and also meet Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
In the visit, Erdoğan is expected to discuss signing a new trade agreement between Turkey and U.K. after Brexit, according to Turkish daily Hürriyet, while increasing the bilateral trade volume between the two countries to $20 billion will be addressed.
Erdoğan will be accompanied by the country's top economic officials, who are traveling to the U.K. today.
Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the economy Mehmet Şimşek is expected to meet investors over the weekend.
President Erdoğan will be accompanied by a number of ministers during the Turkish-British Tatlidil Forum, which has been held since 2011.
As part of the three-day visit, Erdoğan will meet with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He will also meet with Prime Minister May. During Erdoğan's meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and May, Turkey-Britain relations and regional issues are to be discussed.
According to media reports in the U.K., May's official spokesman said the visit is an opportunity for the two countries to demonstrate their close bilateral relationship and to have important discussions about issues of shared interest.
The talks should include discussions to increase the bilateral trade volume, now $16 billion, to $20 billion, and to cooperate in the fields of energy and defense.
Erdoğan is expected to meet the CEOs of U.K.'s major companies and invite them to invest in Turkey.
EU minister to attend Turkish-British forumEU Minister Omer Çelik will attend the seventh Turkish-British Tatlidil Forum in southern England, said the EU Ministry yesterday.
A written statement by the ministry said Çelik will speak at the opening of the forum, which starts in the city of Reading today.
The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson are expected to attend the forum.
Çelik is also scheduled to speak in a session titled "Post-Brexit" on Saturday along with British Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Sir Alan Duncan.
The Tatlidil Forum, established in 2011, gathers leading figures from the fields of academia, business, the media and politics to strengthen relations between Turkey and the U.K.
The sixth gathering of the forum was held last year in the southern Turkish province of Antalya in March.