Foreign investors showing strong interest in Türkiye: Minister
ANKARA
Foreign companies, from a wide range of countries, are showing strong interest in making investments in Türkiye, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat has said.
Foreigners were in the wait-and-see mode due to the uncertainties stemming from the May elections, but now business delegations are flocking to Türkiye to hold talks, Bolat told a group of journalists.
“There is a huge appetite from investors from the U.S., Europe, and the Gulf countries to do business and make new investments in Türkiye…as a strong cabinet was formed after the elections, those investment plans could now materialize any time,” the minister said.
Bolat noted that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week.
Some important trade and investment agreements will be signed during Erdoğan’s tour of the Gulf nations, he said, recalling that Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek along with Turkish delegations visited the UAE and Qatar recently.
An agreement inked with the UAE, which is yet to be ratified, aims to boost the bilateral trade volume from the current $10 billion to initially $25 billion and further up to $40 billion, the minister said.
Bolat noted that he had a phone conversation with his Saudi counterpart, Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, and discussed ties between the two countries.
The minister recalled that earlier this month, he met with the head of the Abu Dhabi Development Holding (ADQ) and other officials from the ADQ.
“They told us that they aim to make investments worth $30 billion in Türkiye and that they are open to offers for investments in the fields of food, logistics, hospital management, infrastructure and startups in tech. We will hopefully hold further talks with him when we travel to the UAE.”
Foreign investments are likely to gather pace after Erdoğan’s visit and the agreements to be signed during his tour of the Gulf nations, Bolat said, adding that there is also strong interest from Europe.
“Everyone is ready to press ahead with their plans. We believe those initiatives will turn into real investments in the next couple of months, toward the fall.”
He also said that his ministry’s targets are based on three pillars: Sustainable increase in exports and balanced foreign trade, effective working of the customs, and a competitive and stable domestic trade environment.
