Türkiye aims to strengthen further trade relations, collaborations and mutual investments with the countries of the Asian-Pacific region, the head of the top trade body said on Monday.
"With the momentum gained from the recent positive developments in Türkiye's relations with Asia-Pacific countries, we aim to strengthen our trade relations, collaborations and mutual investments with the countries in the region," Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) President Nail Olpak said.
His remarks came amid this week's official visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Olpak noted that Türkiye has a trade volume of over $8 billion with these three nations.
President Erdoğan embarked on Monday on the Asian tour and has already met top officials in Malaysia, the first stop on his trip. During the meetings planned as part of the visits, the bilateral relations with these countries are expected to be reviewed in all aspects and joint steps are expected to be determined to advance existing cooperation with concrete projects.
Following his visit to Malaysia, Türkiye's comprehensive strategic partner, Erdoğan, will chair High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meetings with his counterparts in Indonesia and Pakistan.
Various agreements are expected to be signed to strengthen the legal framework for bilateral relations with the countries the president is visiting, along with meetings with business circles. Additionally, discussions will be held on current regional and global issues, particularly the situation in Gaza.
Commenting on the visits to Anadolu Agency (AA), Olpak said that on the occasion of Erdoğan’s official visits to Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan, DEIK will bring together representatives of the Turkish business community with their counterparts in these three countries to enhance trade and cooperation.
He also mentioned that they would hold meetings of the World Turkish Business Council (DTIK), where they would meet with Turkish businesspeople, people of Turkish origin and Türkiye-friendly entrepreneurs living in the respective countries.
"On Feb. 11, we will organize the Malaysia-Türkiye Business Forum in Kuala Lumpur; on Feb. 12, the Indonesia-Türkiye Business Forum in Jakarta; and on Feb. 13, the Pakistan-Türkiye Business Forum in Islamabad," he informed.
Moreover, Olpak also highlighted that they continue their global commercial diplomacy activities around the world and maintain collaborations with international organizations, including chambers of commerce and industry in the mentioned countries.
He stated that Türkiye has a trade volume of over $5 billion with Malaysia, over $2 billion with Indonesia and over $1 billion with Pakistan.
At the same time, Olpak expressed confidence that, in addition to increasing the existing trade volume, they would enhance joint projects in third countries with Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan. He noted that they aim for a balanced increase in trade volume with these countries and are working toward this goal.
He also pointed out that a broad range of opportunities exists to elevate trade and cooperation with these three important countries. "When we look at the sectors, defense, aviation, energy, infrastructure, construction, education, health, agriculture, tourism, green and digital economy, logistics, mining, contracting and international technical consultancy, textiles, transportation, chemical products, banking-finance, automotive, advanced technology and R&D stand out," he elaborated.
Emphasizing that they aim to boost mutual trade with regional countries through business forums and DTIK meetings, Olpak added, "Moreover, we seek to expand economic and cultural relations into different sectors and dimensions, diversifying and increasing them from trade and investment to bilateral partnerships in various countries."
