Turkish & German businessmen to boost relations
Turkey and Germany have long been partners in many walks of life to include a strong relation in politics throughout history and economy, certainly.
Ms Angela MERKEL, German Chancellor has paid a visit to Turkey and attended a forum in Istanbul on which occasion she has had the opportunity of meeting Turkish businessmen to help contribute to the business relations between two economies, the leading businessmen of both countries have been brought together at the Turkish-German CEO Forum.
At the forum, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan made a reproachful speech slamming the belittling treatment given to Turkish businessmen in regards to visa procedures for their trips to Germany.
Mr. Çağlayan also referred to the issue about Volkswagen investing and starting production in Turkey. He said Turkey’s performance was open for everyone to see and that he also he believed Volkswagen would not ignore Turkey’s reality.
Moreover, he said the fact the producer of a best-selling car in Turkey does not consider an investment in this country, was interesting.
On the other hand Turkish and German businessmen have blazed a fresh impetus to their commercial ties, laying a special emphasis on energy deals during the German Chancellor’s two-day visit.
A number of investment opportunities were discussed by Turkish and German businessmen, particularly in the energy field, Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan announced, making particular reference to the agreement worth $2 billion set to be reached by Anadolu Group and a German company.
Çağlayan said “Anadolu Group’s $2 billion energy deal with a German company was due to be announced, but due to the traffic of the meeting and Merkel’s busy schedule it couldn’t be concluded”.
It is reported that the Anadolu Group agreement was the first noteworthy to come out of said meeting, but it seems likely not to be the last one, as the main focus of the German and Turkish parties’ economic cooperation has been stated as energy deals, based on the post-meeting statements of both politicians and the businessmen.
The forum was participated in by 16 Turkish companies’ executives including Koç Holding, Borusan, Tusaş, Doğuş, IC İçtaş, Boydak Holding, Boyner, Doğan Holding, Sabancı Holding, Polat Energy and 16 German company heads comprising Siemens , E.ON, EnBW, Lufthansa, Hitachi Power Europe, Alba, Hoffmann, Deutche Bank, Fraport, and Airbus Operations. Five companies in particular discussed cooperation in energy and various fields, providing substantial information.
Representatives of 14 of these companies also gathered with Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız to talk about potential energy investments, particularly in coal, wind and solar energy projects, as well as the technical problems faced by German companies when conducting business. The issues will be further discussed in the Turkish-German Energy Forum that will be held later this year.“In addition to Turkey having the advantage of being a transit energy hub, we predict that its consumption will double in ten years, so we’re set to gear up our investments,” said Anne Ruth Herkes, German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
A joint statement announced after the forum said “The liberalization of the Turkish energy market through the privatization of a number of energy companies and the phasing out of existing energy purchase deals is an opportunity for the participation of German energy stock exchange companies in the market and for the contribution of their experience”.
27.02.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA
