BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/06/2008

Belarus counts on new economic projects with Turkey, Andrei Kobyakov says

Belarus expects to implement new economic projects with Turkey, Vice Premier Andrei Kobyakov said at a meeting with a parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Turkey in Minsk. The Turkish delegation was headed by chairman of the group of interparliamentary cooperation "Turkey-Belarus" Reha Camuroglu.

Andrei Kobyakov noted that mutual relations between the two countries have intensified over the recent years. He expressed confidence that "Belarus will start receiving new mutually beneficial proposals on trade and economic cooperation from the Turkish business".

The Vice Premier assumed that the parliamentarians had arrived in Belarus to "assure themselves in gravity and reliability of our intentions to improve the investment climate and availability of the proposals". Andrei Kobyakov said that Belarus "is eager to see further development of the relations with Turkey not only in the investment and trade area but also in tourism". The Vice Premier invited Turkish guests to visit Belarus and see its sights. According to him, the two countries have an untapped cultural potential in the bilateral cooperation.

Chairman of the group of interparliamentary cooperation "Turkey-Belarus" Reha Camuroglu briefed the interest of Turkey in developing relations with Belarus in all areas. This visit opened new sectors for the bilateral cooperation. The matter concerns the development of the cultural links including literature. Turkey is ready to publish the works of the Belarusian writers. Belarusian readers will be able to get familiar with the literary heritage of Turkey. According to the Turkish parliamentarian, Belarusian and Turkish literature "will play an important role in the development of the relations between the countries".

Trade and economic relations between Belarus and Turkey have seen great progress in development. In January-April 2008, the bilateral trade more than doubled from the same time last year to reach $133.7 million. The exports made up $75.2 million (295.8%), imports - $58.1 million (152.4%). For the recent five years, Belarus has registered trade surplus of $17.1 million in January-April 2008 (as against trade deficit of $12.4 million in January-April 2007).

Belarusian exports to Turkey are diversified and include nearly 60 descriptions of the products. Oil products account for 2% of the whole export structure.

The bulk (90%) of the Belarusian exports to Turkey in 2007 was stock steel, potash fertilizers, flax linen, synthetic and artificial thread, synthetic fibre.

In 2007, Turkey exported feedstock, materials, machines and equipment (80% of the total exports) to Belarus. An increase of the Turkish import is, first of all, related to the intensification of the production and investment activity of the Belarusian companies.

Turkey is one of the most visited by Belarusians country. According to the Turkish official statistics, in 2007, nearly 100,000 tourists from Belarus visited Turkey, with an annual growth standing at 30%. Almost 20 Belarusian travel agencies present at the tourist market of Turkey. The bilateral interaction in the tourist area is regulated by the 1996 intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in tourism.

Source:

http://capital.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1227245&lang=EN

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