Turkish TV stars to join economic delegation’s Argentina visit

ISTANBUL

DHA photo

Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) will make an official visit to Argentina in March 2016 accompanied by famous Turkish TV stars Halit Ergenç and Bergüzar Korel, who are very popular in Latin America.

Ergenç and Korel co-starred in the popular Turkish soap opera “Binbir Gece” (1001 Nights), screened under the title “Las Mil y Una Noches” in Argentina. 

The head of DEİK’s Turkey-Argentina Business Council, Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ, underlined how Turkish soap operas are popular in Latin America. 

“Turkey’s TV series exports to Latin America have exceeded $50 million in value. We’ll make an official visit to Argentina to strengthen economic and trade ties. In order to strengthen cultural ties, Ergenç and Korel will join our delegation,” he said in a press meeting on Dec. 16. 

“The number of Argentinian tourists visiting Turkey has increased 100 percent for the last two years compared to the previous years despite the long distance between the two countries. Argentinians who learned about the importance of Anatolia in the history of Christianity have recently started to add Istanbul and Cappadocia to their religious touristic tours in addition to Rome. I’m sure reciprocal touristic activities between Turkey and Argentina will see a further boost in the future. I also believe that they will cooperate more in infrastructure and industrial projects,” Yalçındağ noted. 

He said the trade volume between the two countries reached $466 million in 2014. 

“This figure is however very much lower than the two countries’ real potential. There are miles to drive to boost trade and economic and touristic ties between Turkey and Argentina. Our business council will work to help businesspeople from both sides build stronger ties,” he added. 

Feeling ‘like home’

Argentina’s Ambassador in Turkey, Juan Jose Arcuri, said the two countries have a lot in common. 
“I feel like [I’m] home here,” he added at the meeting. 

Turkey first sold “Aşk-ı Memnun” (Forbidden Love) and “Binbir Gece” to Chile. After these soap operas became very popular in Chile, they were sold to Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Mexico as well as the United States, according to sector representatives.   

A total of eight distributors sell the soap operas to America. Over 25 Turkish TV series were sold in the last 1.5 years in the mentioned countries, said sector players. 

Korel and Ergenç said they were happy to see such boon in Latin America during the meeting, underlying the positive effect of this popularity on Turkey’s tourism sector.