Turkey and Romania are looking to raise bilateral trade to $10 billion from $6.3 billion last year, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan has said.

Pekcan, who arrived in Bucharest Friday, said the current volume was way below the actual potential and must be increased.

On her arrival, Pekcan met Romania's Prime Minister Vasilica Viorica Dancila in the capital. The meeting discussed new cooperation opportunities, Turkey-EU relations, as well as developing the existing bilateral economic relations.

In her speech at a business forum organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Turkish Businessmen Association (TİAD), Minister Pekcan said the business people and investors of the two countries have made great contributions in reaching the present level in Turkey-Romania relations.

She added that the commercial ties will further improve with talks and expressed her appreciation for Romania's EU Presidency. Pekcan said she hoped Romania would fully support Turkey's full membership bid and the updating of the customs union during its EU Presidency. She added that Romania was the biggest destination for Turkish exports in the Balkans. "Business and investment forums between the two countries focusing on general and specific sectors should be carried out regularly," she said.

Turkey has so far invested $7.5 billion in Romania, Pekcan noted. "I believe we need to raise reciprocal investments to a higher level in order to establish healthier, long-lasting and commercial relations."

She stressed that Turkey, one of the most important attraction centers in the world, offers significant opportunities for Romanian investors in many areas.

She added that Turkish contracting and technical consultancy companies, which have successfully completed important projects all around the world, have undertaken 172 projects, worth more than $4.1 billion in Romania to date.

Pekcan said they will hold the Turkish-Romanian Joint Economic Commission Meeting and Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) Meeting with Stefan-Radu Oprea, Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship of Romania, in the upcoming period. She highlighted that they attach great importance to current EU President Romania's support for the initiation of the customs union negotiations without further delays and the smooth completion of the process. Minister Oprea, on the other hand, noted that Turkey is a strategic business partner, adding they aim to reach $10 billion in bilateral business volume.

Oprea said Romania will remain an attractive country for Turkish investors and that they also back Romanian companies bidding in Turkey, suggesting that Romanian business people can invest in energy, petrochemical, electronic goods production, automotive, food, construction materials and tourism sectors in Turkey.