Turkey, Italy to boost economic cooperation

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (R) and Ahmet Davutoğlu speak during a Turkey-Italy business forum in Istanbul, Dec. 12. AP Photo / Emrah Gürel

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Turkey and Italy have a good opportunity to boost economic cooperation at the Turkey-Italy Business Forum in Istanbul on Dec. 12, hosted by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK), with the attendance of his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi.

“We had very significant talks over the defense industry both today [Dec. 12] and yesterday [Dec. 11],” Davutoğlu said.

“There is a lot of room for cooperation in the defense industry ahead of us,” he added.

The prime minister also said the two countries had cooperated on projects such as the ATAK series of helicopters – the first locally made Turkish attack helicopter – and the TURKSAT satellite, vowing that “more will come."

Davutoğlu noted that the trade volume between Italy and Turkey had increased to some $20 billion in the last five years, from $13 billion in 2009.

“Italian companies have more than $4.5 billion currently invested in Turkey. Both Turkey and Italy are ready to encourage their businesspeople to build closer ties,” he added.

Italian Prime Minister Renzi pointed to a series of ongoing infrastructure projects in Turkey, such as the third bridge over the Bosphorus Strait currently under construction, highlighting the opportunities available for enterprising investors. He also invited Turkish businessmen to Italy to explore further investments.