Turkish economy minister in London for new opportunities

LONDON - Anatolia News Agency

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan rings the opening bell of the London Exchange on April 23 along with the bourse’s CEO, Alexander Justham.

The Turkish economy minister’s London visit has encouraged further economic cooperation between Turkey and the U.K. as it created opportunities yesterday and today for Turkey to ask for U.K. support on touchy issues while the latter explored new investment fields in Turkey.

As the first part of London tour, Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan rang the opening bell of the London Excange. Then he attended the U.K.-Turkey Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting with Britain’s Trade and Investment Minister Lord Stephen Green.During the meeting Turkey asked for the United Kingdom’s support for critical economic issues including Istanbul’s Olympic bid and Turkey’s involvement in initiated trans-Atlantic free trade talks.

Nuclear energy was also on agenda of the countries, Çağlayan said. “British companies expressed their desire to participate in the financing of nuclear energy as well as its engineering services and waste production. We pleasantly said this can be in the cards.”

Çağlayan added that Turkey’s actual demand from the United Kingdom is not easing of visa requisites for Turks, but rather that the three-month visa given to other European Union members’ businesspeople be provided to Turkish bosses as well.