The U.K. aims to double its trade volume with Türkiye in the coming years, a top British official said recently, stressing the growing cooperation in fields such as defense, but also the potential in other sectors.
"There is a trade volume of 28 billion pounds ($37.1 billion) every year between Türkiye and the United Kingdom, and we want to double this trade volume in the coming years," said U.K. Minister of State for Trade Chris Bryant.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Bryant said Europe could be thought of like the two ends of a book, noting that Türkiye and the U.K. are located at opposite ends of Europe and are highly important to each other as fellow NATO members.
Saying he believes there are many commonalities between Türkiye and Britain, Bryant cited strong music and cinema traditions as he touched upon trade figures and cooperation.
Bryant's remarks came following a visit to Ankara, where, with his Turkish counterparts, he discussed how to advance economic partnership, bilateral trade, and also modernization of the free trade agreement (FTA).
"Both countries have strong defense sectors, and we are working to cooperate more closely in these areas," he further said.
Moreover, he mentioned his visit to Ukraine earlier this year, where he said one of the bridges that had been destroyed has now been rebuilt using British steel produced in Scotland and British engineering, but that the construction was carried out by Turkish contractors.
"This is a really good example of partnership," he said.
"Especially in challenging regions of the world, we often see how closely U.K. and Turkish companies can work together in the construction sector. This is exactly what we want to see in the future as well," he added.
Yet, Bryant pointed out that there are still many sectors where trade between Türkiye and the U.K. remains below potential.
He said the services sector is one of the main areas.
"Education, design, advertising and many other fields are areas where we can do much more business together. These are also the issues I am currently discussing with Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and Deputy Trade Minister Mustafa Tuzcu," he maintained.
“In the next few weeks, I will also travel to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. There are significant opportunities there as well, and I know that Turkish companies are already active in these regions," he furthered.
"As I have said before, Türkiye and the U.K. have created a unique partnership. When we work together, we can move things forward in ways that some countries cannot," Bryant said.
"I am quite confident that by the end of the year we will reach a much more comprehensive and advanced free trade agreement," he added.
Bryant noted that in the past, free trade agreements focused more on trade in goods such as food, agricultural products, and furniture, but today areas such as technology, the digital economy, services, education, advertising, design, and construction have become just as important as these sectors.
"We aim to create a free trade agreement that is suited to the needs of modern economies," he said.
