Turkish prime minister reassures German investors in Turkey

ANKARA

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has assured German companies in Turkey that his government will not allow tension between Ankara and Berlin to harm their interests in the country. 

“It is very important to us that you are not a part of this tension and do not suffer any damage from the events,” Yıldırım said on July 27 at a meeting with senior representatives of leading German companies in Turkey, including Bosch, Siemens, Mercedes, Metro Group, Frankfurt Messe and Thyssen Krupp.

“The Turkish government is not in a positon to escalate tension with Germany,” he said.

“I am very clear that we do not consider you German companies. We see you as the companies of this country,” Yıldırım stated.

Yıldırım said German investors in Turkey should not feel they are subjected to unfair criticisms or should not pay a price for the relations between Ankara and Berlin, adding that the German companies were “Turkish firms rather than German ones as they have been in Turkey for more than half a century.”

He said the political tension with Germany was temporary, adding that taking into account 3.5 million Turkish citizens living in Germany it is pointless for both Germany and Turkey to have permanent negative relations.

Representatives of the German companies told reporters after the meeting they agreed that Turkey-German relations should continue “more silently,” in a way that would not be reflected on the economy. 

They said the meeting was positive. 

Asked if the recent tension in political relations affected their work in Turkey, the representatives said there is yet to be serious consequences, but there can be concerns for upcoming investments. They said Yıldırım spoke to them about “positive developments in fall” but he did not elaborate in detail.

Yıldırım assured that there is no legal investigation into German companies in Turkey, according to the representatives of the companies.

“We are happy to see that our concerns are met with the government, too,” one representative said, adding that there could be positive steps regarding the state of emergency. 
 
Also at the meeting, Zeybekci reportedly proposed that CEOs of the German companies investing in Turkey should have meetings at their headquarters in Germany in order to explain the attitude of the Turkish government better.