UPDATE - Turkey forecasts ending 2021 with 9% growth, president says

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday Turkey forecasts ending the year 2021 with a 9% economic growth.

"While most of the G20 countries threw in the towel in 2020 at the peak of the pandemic, we became the second-largest growing country among them by expanding 1.8%," he said, speaking at Turkey-Angola Business Forum.

"We have seen that this was not a coincidence at the first quarter of 2021 when we grew at 7.2%, and confirmed it with a 21.7% rate at the second quarter," he said.

Erdogan said Turkey has become one of the world's three most successful countries in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), adding: "We are one of the 10 countries in the world that can design, build, and sustain its warships."

The president noted that Turkey has seven firms among the top 100 defense companies in the world, and said the country is planning to put its new submarines into service next year.

He also said Turkey is planning to put its first electric car on the roads at the end of 2022.

Erdogan said Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines flies to 41 countries, and a total of 61 destinations in Africa, and noted that the company operated its first flight from Istanbul to Angola's capital Luanda on Oct. 13.

- Turkey-Angola relations

Referring to Angola as the rising star of South Africa, Erdogan emphasized increasing the business cooperation and bilateral relations between Turkey and Angola, especially in the infrastructure, textile, food, construction, energy, and mining fields.

"Until today, Turkish construction firms have completed five projects in Angola worth $809 million," Erdogan said.

"It is very important for us that business people from Angola get to know Turkey and business opportunities in our country," he added.

Erdogan said the rising cooperation between Turkey and Angola will enable the two countries' businessmen getting to know each other better, and establishing cooperation that extend beyond the two nations and their regions.

"In the short-term, we have agreed to raise our bilateral trade volume to $500 million, which is around $250 million right now," he noted.

Erdogan said Turkey, a member of G20, has so far increased the number of its diplomatic missions, made military cooperation agreements, provided student scholarships and aid in tourism and development across Africa.

The president said Turkey continues to offer its help to Africa through Turkish scholarships to more than 50 countries on the continent where 5,000 students are studying in higher education degree programs.

Erdogan noted that Turkey has discovered $540 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea, adding: "Turkey has written a success story in distributing gas to households and its widespread use, in addition to gas exploration and discovery."

"We are ready to share our original development model that we carry out successfully, and our expertise in this area, with you," he said.

"I believe the Angolan government and the country's business world will provide all types of convenience to Turkish investors that move with a win-win mentality," Erdogan stressed.

"Improving cooperation in the banking sector and carrying out trade movements directly will clear the way for new investments," he said.