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Turkey-Indonesia Trade Volume To Reach $5 Bln In 3 Years

Istanbul, Turkey | September 22, 2008 by D-8 Secretariat

RITTurkish Justice Minister & Turkey-Indonesia Joint Economic Committee (JEC) co-chairman Mehmet Ali Sahin said on Thursday that they aimed to increase the trade volume between the two countries to US$5 billion within the next three years.

The seventh term JEC protocol between Turkey and Indonesia was signed by Sahin and Indonesian Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu in Ankara.

Sahin said that the trade volume between the two countries, which was US$1.1 billion in 2006, rose 37 per cent to US$1.5 billion in 2007. He added that the trade volume rose 28 per cent to US$1 billion in the January-July period in 2008.

Sahin said that imports from Indonesia to Turkey, which was US$750 million in 2005, increased to US$1.3 billion in 2007 and was expected to be US$1.6 billion by the end of 2008.

He added that export rate, which was US$85 million in 2006, rose to US$174 million in 2007 and was expected to be US$350-400 million by the end of 2008.

Sahin said that the eighth term JEC meeting was planned to take place in Jakarta in 2010.

Sahin said that Turkey and Indonesia could cooperate in food, ship construction, automobile, textile and textile machine sectors, and they could increase joint investments in those areas.

The Indonesian minister also expressed pleasure over the developing relations between Turkey and Indonesia and said that the Indonesian people did not forget the assistance of the Turkish Red Crescent after the tsunami disaster.

Pangestu said that Indonesia considered Turkey as a door to Europe and the Middle East, adding that Indonesia also was a door to Asia Pacific countries for Turkey.


Taking first step toward FTA

Both countries have also pledged to enhance their economic partnership, introducing a plan to formulate a comprehensive trade and economic partnership — an initial step toward a free trade agreement.

The two-way economic mission aims to achieve US$5 billion in bilateral trade by 2011, according to the Trade Ministry's director general for international trade cooperation Gusmardi Bustami.

The pledge was made after a two-day meeting with the Turkish Business Council in Istanbul, according to a press statement released by the Trade Ministry.

Indonesia-Turkey Business Council chairman Cetin Candan said Indonesia's geographical position meant the country could become Turkey's gateway to the ASEAN market, as well as to the broader Asian and Australian markets.

He said Turkey should take advantage of Indonesia's coal outputs, as Indonesia is the world's second largest coal producer after Australia.

D-8 organization cherished this encouraging news and pledged that it will support both memberstates to reach their goals through cooperation frameworks developed by the organization.

D-8 Economist, Esen Gonen, said that trade between Turkey and Indonesia has been showing an increasing graphic since 2002.

"While Turkey's exports to Indonesia was 28.5 million USD in 2002, it was 173.7 million USD in 2007. In the first half of 2008, Turkey's exports to Indonesia showed 93% increase compared to same period of 2007 by exceeding its 2007 value and reached 178 million USD," she said.

Gonen also explained that Indonesia' exports to Turkey have been consantly increase (around 30%) since 2002 and reached 1.3 billion USD in 2007. Statistics related to the first half of 2008 demonstrates the continuation of the same path.

In 2007, while trade volume of Turkey and Indonesia was 1.5 billion USD, trade balance is against Turkey which was -1.1 billion USD. "It is estimated that volume of trade of these two countries will reach almost 2 billion USD at the end of 2008," she noted.

Main products in Turkey's exports to Indonesia are wheat or meslin flour, tobacco, iron and steel, wowen fabrics, chemicals. Indonesia's exports to Turkey are essentially palm oil, coconuts, natural rubber, single yarn, Poly(vinyl chloride), staple fibres, man-made filaments, monitors and projectors.

Potential cooperation areas between Turkey and Indonesia are automotive and automotive supply industry, agro industry, food, cellulose and paper industry, defence industry, construction, production of stainless steel, materials and equipments rnecessary for energy industry, logistics etc.

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