Turkey provides many opportunities and incentives for innovation and technology-focused investments in the specialized free zones, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said Sunday, calling on investors to invest in those areas.
“We plan to expand the specialized free zones model, which we first implemented for the software and information sector, for other high-tech and high value-added sectors in the future. I invite you to invest in our specialized free zones,” Pekcan said.
The minister told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Turkey's dynamic nature makes it quite an attractive country for investments, among other things.
Among the major points that enable Turkey to come forward, as Pekcan said, there are the advantaged position in logistics, qualified and young population, the advantages of competitiveness in production and European Union standard-quality infrastructure along with its customs union agreement with the EU.
Although many developing countries have the potential to attract investment, the minister said, Turkey can be distinguished in a very positive course with these characteristics.
Pekcan, who said that they aim to make Turkey one of the strategic suppliers worldwide by attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI), stressed that they maintain work to enhance the investment environment in the country under the coordination of the Coordination Council for the Improvement of the Investment Environment (YOIKK).
The specialized free zones, meanwhile, are among the initiatives that contribute greatly to the country’s investment environment, she said, and that the ministry has commissioned the New Generation Specialized Free Zone Project to further strengthen those initiatives.
The trade minister, noting that state support in exports is also important in terms of trade and investments, said that the companies with export potential and export-oriented works can easily attract investments from abroad.
“As the Ministry of Commerce, we have a very different support instrument that differs according to the competence levels of our companies. Our ministry aims to increase the export of high value-added products,” Pekcan said. She also added that with the Global Supply Chain Competency Project, one of the most important types of support allocated by the state, local manufacturing companies operating in the aerospace, aviation, electrical-electronics, machinery, automotive, mining and metals, and chemistry sectors who conduct global-scale production are provided funds for the purchases of the machinery, equipment and hardware they need.
The ministry also takes steps to effectively promote local manufacturers’ products abroad, she said, for the further strengthening of improving product image.
Pekcan emphasized that the ministry is in constant negotiations with countries and regions for bilateral and multilateral agreements, and stated that they closely follow the EU Green Consensus Strategy and EU Supply Chain legal regulations within the scope of these negotiations.
She reiterated that Turkey is also participating in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Investment Facilitation Working Group.
