' Turkey expects increase in trade turnover with Azerbaijan'

Turkey expects an increase in trade turnover with Azerbaijan to $4 billion by the end of this year, Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said in Baku on Tuesday during a speech at the second meeting of economic ministers of the Council of Cooperation of Turkic-speaking states.

"Trade turnover between Turkey and Azerbaijan in 2011 amounted to $3.4 billion, in the first half of 2012 - $2 billion. Such pace of development of trade relations in the first half-year gives reason to expect that by the end of the year the trade turnover will reach $4 billion," Caglayan said.

He said the trade turnover last year between Turkey and Kazakhstan amounted to $4 billion, and with Kyrgyzstan it reached $232 million.

"Over the past ten years the Turkey's trade turnover with Azerbaijan has grown tenfold," the minister said.

He said the mutual trade turnover between the Council member countries in 2011 amounted to $9 billion.

"With the total foreign trade turnover of the four countries at $545 billion the share of mutual trade between these countries remains low - 1.7 percent," Caglayan said.

Baku is hosting a meeting of economy ministers of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states today.

The first meeting of the economic ministers of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states was held in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on Oct. 13, 2011. It was attended by ministers and deputy ministers of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.


/Trend/