Turkic Council's trade chamber opens in Istanbul

By Elif Ferhan Yesilyurt

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TTCI) has officially opened its doors in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Speaking at the first general assembly of TTCI, Turkey's Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said the establishment of the union will help Turkic Council countries -- and Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan -- to boost their bilateral trade volume.

"As Turkic Council countries, our gross domestic product (GDP) reaches $1 trillion, but our bilateral trade volume fell short of this figure," Pekcan underlined.

The share of Turkic Council countries' trade volume rose 5% globally to $522 billion last year, she said.

"Bilateral trade volume among Turkic Council countries increased 16.7% on a yearly basis to $6.5 billion," she said.

When Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were included in this figure, it reached $9 billion, she added.

"It is about time we reflect our strong ties to our commercial relations," Pekcan said.

She called Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to join the Turkic Council to strengthen its commercial structure.

Turkic Council, was established in 2009 as an international intergovernmental organization, with the aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic speaking states.