Dutch investment in Turkey not at risk in diplomatic row: EU minister

ANKARA

REUTERS photo

Dutch investment in Turkey is not at risk from the recent diplomatic row between the two countries, as Ankara’s ire is focused on the Dutch government, not its people or businesses, Turkey’s minister for EU Affairs told Reuters.

In an interview late on March 14, Ömer Çelik said he believed the time has come for Turkey to reassess its migration deal with the European Union, as it has become clear the bloc would not take a fair stance on its promise to grant Turks visa-free travel.

Turkey suspended high-level diplomatic relations with the Netherlands on March 13, banning the Dutch ambassador from the country and preventing diplomatic flights from landing in retaliation for the Dutch barring Ankara’s ministers from speaking to rallies of overseas Turks.

While one deputy prime minister has said that economic sanctions could be in the works, Çelik said Ankara was making a call to businesses worldwide that Turkey was a safe country for investment.

“Dutch businessmen who invest, have businesses and create employment in Turkey are included in this (call). They are definitely not part of the crisis,” he said, as quoted by Reuters. 

Asked if Dutch companies active in Turkey would be impacted by the row, Çelik said: “The private sector, business world, tourists and the people of the Netherlands are not a part of the crisis.”

Trade between the Netherlands and Turkey has tripled over the past 10 years, making the Netherlands one of Turkey’s main investors.

The bilateral trade ties reached $6.6 billion at the end of 2016. Turkey’s exports to the country were at around $3.6 billion during that period. 

Only last year, the Netherlands took 14 percent of share in Turkey’s FDI inflow with $956 million. 

In tourism terms, a total of 906,336 Dutch people visited Turkey last year, taking around 3.6 percent of share in total arrivals. 

In 2015, this figure was 1.2 million, and 1.3 million in 2014. 

There are around 2,700 Dutch companies in Turkey, including ING Bank and Rabobank.