Bilateral trade between Turkey and Ireland is projected to grow by more than 300pc in the next decade, the Irish Exporters Association said as it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Turkish Exporters Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, today.
The MoU comes as part of an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the region.
“Today’s milestone signing is a direct consequence of the fast-growing interest among Irish companies in deepening their engagement with Turkey, across a wide range of sectors including ICT and telecoms, financial services, engineering, clean tech, life sciences and medical technologies,” said Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore, who is leading the trade mission.
The MoU aims to increase Irish exports of goods and services to Turkey from €803m in 2012 to €2.0bn by 2023; and to increase bilateral trade between Ireland and Turkey from €1.3bn in 2012 to €3.5bn in the decade to 2023. This links into the Turkish Exporters Assembly ‘Strategy 2023’ and the Turkish national strategy document to double exports by 2023.
John Whelan, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association, said he believed the MoU would facilitate the expansion and development of business opportunities for Irish companies in Turkey and will encourage mutually beneficial business ventures.
Whelan added that the Turkish economy was the envy of many economies in the Eurozone, having survived the worst effects of the worldwide economic crisis.
He noted that much of Turkey’s economic success is because of a carefully designed and sound macro-economic strategy, along with timely and decisive implementation of fiscal policies and structural reforms.
Turkish flag image via Shutterstock
