200 Turkish firms recently invested in UK: British ambassador

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Nearly 200 Turkish companies have invested in the United Kingdom in recent years, said British Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore late on Dec. 2.

Moore’s remarks came at the 7th U.K.-Turkey Business Forum in Istanbul held by the Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Turkish Prime Ministry’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency, and the Foreign Economic Relations Board.      

Moore praised the friendly relations between the two countries, saying the British government regarded Turkey “very positively” in terms of trade volume and investments.      

Noting the 70 percent increase in the mutual trade volume since 2010, Moore said the goal was to further boost commercial relations and Turkey was set to become the U.K.’s third largest export market following the Brexit referendum.      

The Brexit decision came as a result of a June 23 referendum when 52 percent of eligible voters said they no longer wanted to be part of the 28-member bloc. 

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has said her country would trigger the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal mechanism for exiting the EU, by the end of March 2017.      

However, the U.K’s Supreme Court later decided that a final parliamentary vote is needed to practice full sovereignty over the Brexit deal, which will be finalized through negotiations with the EU.    

The Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal on Dec. 7, with a ruling to follow in the first weeks of 2017.