Turkey seeks to boost bilateral trade and investment with Oman

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Turkey is aiming to boost its trade ties and investment with the sultanate and increase bilateral trade between the two countries to over US$1bn annually within next few years.

In efforts to explore trade and investment possibilities between Oman and Turkey, Turkey's Central Anatolian Exporters Association along with the Turkish Exporters Assembly and Turkey-Oman Business Council on Tuesday organised a business forum and business-to-business meeting at the InterContinental Muscat. The event, which was supported by the Turkish Embassy in Muscat was attended by over 150 delegates representing various companies from both countries.

Speaking at the forum, Turkish Ambassador to Oman H E Atilay Ersan said, the bilateral trade between two countries fell from over US$500mn in 2014 to around US$310mn in 2017, primarily due to the softening of crude oil and other commodity prices. 'However, we are trying to get back to old days by taking small steps. Last year, we reached a level of around US$310mn. This is not enough seeing the potential of two countries. There is a need to do more to promote trade and investments,' H E Ersan said.

He said,'The distance and other logistics issues can be seen as a barrier, but we can overcome those barriers and open our horizon for a big target, which is to achieve US$1bn bilateral trade in the coming years.'

Inviting Turkish companies to explore business potential in Oman, H E Ersan said, 'Oman is a very important country in the region. The sultanate geographical location and strong strategic and cultural relation with countries such as India, Iran and East African coastal countries could provide numerous opportunities for joint ventures between Turkish and Omani companies.'

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