Turkic Council economy ministers gather in Istanbul

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Economy ministers from the Turkic Council countries gathered in Istanbul on Thursday ahead of the council’s eighth summit.

They include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

At the Turkey-Turkic Republics Economy and Trade Conference, the ministers will share ideas to boost trade ties.

The event is being held at Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

Nail Olpak, the head of DEIK, said the meeting was being held on the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Turkic republics.

Ministers, officials and business world representatives will have B2B meetings, he said.

He noted that the trade volume between Turkic nations reached $8.4 billion last year. This figure was $275 million in 1992, he said.

He proposed that Turkic republics should buy processed industrial products from each other instead of only energy and raw material.

Rifat Hisarciklioglu, the head of Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Turkic republics should sign free trade agreements to facilitate businesses.

They should standardize and ease custom processes, remove quotas and boost trade, he added.

- Removing trade barriers

Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan's deputy prime-minister and foreign trade minister, said Turkic republics should remove trade barriers and improve e-commerce.

Mikayil Cabbarov, Azerbaijan's economy minister, said trade barriers among Turkic republics will be removed step by step.

He added that multilateral relations are very important for these countries and new business models should be created for the development of the region.

Aset Irgaliyev, Kazakhstan's economy minister, said such events strengthen trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian collaboration between these countries.

“Stable trade and economic relations are the main driving forces of our fruitful interaction,” he said.

He underlined that the Turkic Council has transformed into an economic association, where matters related to investment, trade, transport, entrepreneurship, and tourism are discussed.

- Improving relations

Daniyar Amangeldiev, Kyrgyz minister of economy and commerce, said Turkic republics should improve infrastructure and transportation and create a new transport corridor for boosting economic potential.

Stressing that food security is a hot-button issue, he said agricultural products of Turkic republics could be presented in the world market.

“We should provide equal opportunities for higher education,” he added.

Mehmet Mus, Turkey's trade minister, said improving relations with Turkic republics is a permanent vision of Turkey.

He said that Turkic republics should take steps to encourage the use of national currencies in trade.

Bagdad Amreyev, secretary general of Turkic Council, said Turkic republics have built cooperation in several areas such as customs and logistics, which can ease trade in the future.

“However, regulations and legal conditions should also be improved and facilitated, and trade barriers should be freed, tariffs should be reduced, customs procedures should be simplified,” he added.

These countries have a big potential and it should be increased much more, he underlined.

In the recent years, Turkic republics have boosted their economies and production capacities rapidly, he said.

He recalled that the council’s eighth summit will be held in Istanbul on Friday for creating a new path to modernize business sectors and finding new solutions.