By Yegor Vikulich
A delegation of Turkish manufacturers of automobile components has visited the Minsk Automobile Works and Minsk Tractor Works, highly praising partnership potential of Belarusian machine building. The group was headed by the Chairman of the Board of the Automotive Industry Exporters’ Union (OIB), Orhan Sabuncu. He explained, “Our visit aims to develop bilateral economic relations and increase Turkish exports. The development of investment projects is our long-term, strategic aim. Many Turkish companies are currently injecting money into the Russian Federation but Russia and Belarus are viewed by us as a single economic region. Our visit has convinced us that Belarus boasts good conditions for investors.”
The arrival of the delegation of Turkish industrialists to Belarus shows Ankara’s desire to expand the geography of its trade. According to Mr. Sabuncu, by 2023, Turkey will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of its independence as a republic. It has ambitious goals for the forthcoming decade, aiming to raise exports from $135bn to $500bn and GDP per capita from $10,000 to $25,000. Turkey is eager to join the top ten economically developed states worldwide.
Studying new markets, the OIB delegation has visited Morocco and the Russian Federation. The visit to Minsk was organised by the Turkish Ministry of Economics, under the auspices of the Belarusian Industry Ministry, Mogilev FEZ and the Turkish trading representative office in Belarus. The Turkish industrialists visited MAZ and MTZ, and held business negotiations with several Belarusian companies — aiming to discuss possible collaboration and investment.
