President Erdoğan: Türkiye and croatia are partner countries given their geographical locations and economies
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the Türkiye-Croatia Business Forum.
Pointing to his meeting with President Zoran Milanović of Croatia earlier in the day, President Erdoğan said: “I also had a meeting with Mr. Prime Minister. During our talks, we discussed in detail the economic and trade relations between the two countries. I believe that the decisions we have taken will deepen the friendship and cooperation between our respective countries. The consultations we have had today remind us of one point, which is that Türkiye and Croatia are partner countries given their geographical locations and economies. The momentum we have achieved in our economic and trade cooperation in recent years is promising in this sense.”
Noting that the trade volume between Türkiye and Croatia has increased by nearly two and a half times since his last visit to Croatia n 2016, President Erdoğan said: “Our trade volume has increased from 387 million dollars at the end of 2015 to 900 million dollars at the end of 2021. There has been a minor deviation from the goal of reaching 1 billion dollars of bilateral trade in five years, which we determined during my visit back then, because of the pandemic. However, it seems that we can clearly exceed that objective this year. As of the first eight months of 2022, we have already surpassed 760 million dollars. And we have set our new short-term goal as 2 billion dollars. I don’t foresee any obstacle that can prevent us from reaching 5 billion dollars in the medium and long term.”
Drawing attention to the increasingly growing investment partnerships between Türkiye and Croatia, President Erdoğan stated: “It makes us proud that our enterprises are engaged in strategic works in a wide range of sectors including energy, construction, infrastructure, tourism and banking. I hope today’s business forum may speed up the momentum in our bilateral trade and economic relations and pave the way for further cooperation. As state authorities, it is our duty to remove the bureaucratic hardships and obstacles faced by the business community. And your duty, as the business community, is to contribute to the improvement of the economic relations between our respective countries. I am confident that each one of you will be working sincerely for the strengthening of the economic relations and friendly ties between Türkiye and Croatia. I thank DEİK, which represents Türkiye’s enterprising vision abroad with the business diplomacy it conducts, and the Türkiye-Croatia Business Council.”
Noting that Turkish enterprises operating in Croatia have investments worth nearly 200 million euros in the areas of tourism, renewable energy and banking, President Erdoğan stated: “We also know that this figure actually turns out to be higher when the investments originating from third countries are also added. There is a much vaster area of cooperation and trade in front of us in fact. I believe that we will expand our cooperation in a wide spectrum of areas including energy, infrastructure, digitalization, tourism, agriculture, irrigation and husbandry. European Union funds are expected to add momentum to investments in energy, infrastructure and digitalization in Croatia. Türkiye stands ready to share its capabilities in these areas with its Croatian friends.”
Noting that Croatia hosts tourists nearly five times the size of its population, President Erdoğan stressed that there are opportunities in tourism that should be seized. “I am of the opinion that steps to be taken jointly as regards SMEs will pave the way for new opportunities for cooperation. Among the areas in which there is potential for cooperation between Türkiye and Croatia are agriculture, organic farming, husbandry, and irrigation projects. Croatia offers such advantages as fertile lands, advanced transportation network, vast resources of renewable energy and highly qualified human resources besides geographical proximity to European markets. The comprehensive economic and trade cooperation between Türkiye and Croatia will contribute to the development of not only our respective countries but of the region as well.”
“WE MAINTAIN OUR BALANCED GROWTH DESPITE THE PANDEMIC”
“The Turkish overseas contracting and engineering consultancy industry has been increasingly expanding its business volume from 2003 on,” underlined the President. “Our overseas contracting industry has undertaken 11,300 projects with a total value of 460 billion dollars thus far. Our enterprises support local employment, implementing extremely successful projects all across the world. I believe that Turkish and Croatian enterprises can cooperate both in the infrastructure and post-quake reconstruction activities inside Croatia and in the projects in third countries. Let me add that we expect Croatian authorities to lend support to Turkish enterprises and businesspeople about improving the investment environment, decreasing bureaucracy and offering incentive policies.”
Describing Türkiye as a country that stands out with its 85-million strong population, growing industrial output, highly-qualified employment capacity, physical infrastructure and geographical location, President Erdoğan said: “What has transpired during the pandemic has openly shown the strength and resilience of the Turkish economy and the distance it has covered over the past two decades. We grew by 1.8 percent in 2020, when the global economy shrank by 3.4 percent. Notwithstanding the risk of a substantial contraction in global economy, we grew by 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022 and 7.6 in the second quarter. We maintain our balanced growth, which continues for five quarters in a row, in the current period as well despite the pandemic. Our exports have exceeded 250 billion dollars year-on-year as of this month. We have managed to attract over 239 billion dollars’ worth of direct foreign investment in the 2003-2021 period.”
“TÜRKİYE RECEIVED 14 BILLION DOLLARS’ WORTH OF ADDITIONAL DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT LAST YEAR”
“Türkiye received 14 billion dollars’ worth of additional direct foreign investment last year alone,” the President said. “Türkiye has received the second biggest direct foreign investment in the Central and Eastern Europe over the past 16 years. Thanks to the accurate steps we have taken in the UAV technology through a correct analysis of the future, we are now one of the top three countries of the world in this area. We will make our UAV fleet, which has climbed to an upper league with the inclusion of Akıncı UCAVs, number one in the world with the addition of our Unmanned Combat Aircraft Systems. These are the most visible indicators of the strength of the Turkish economy as well as of the trust accorded to the Turkish economy. What is more, Türkiye has very favorable regulations and practices in terms of setting up and doing business. You can easily access over 340 destinations across the world through Istanbul. The 52 countries which are within a 4-hour flight distance to Türkiye have a market of 1.6 billion population in total. Istanbul Airport, which has become the intersection of global flights, ranked the 2nd in Europe in terms of the number of passengers it hosted in 2021.”
President Erdoğan concluded his remarks as follows: “According to the June 2022 data, Turkish Cargo ranks the 4th among the global air cargo carriers. Our country offers great opportunities for Croatian businesspeople with its dynamic population, vast market outreach and investor-friendly regulations. The legal basis necessary for reciprocal investment and bilateral trade is available. As I have stated during my previous visits, we have provided Croatian businesspeople every kind of support and stand ready to do so. I hope today’s business forum will contribute to consolidating the friendship between our two countries and to boosting mutual investments and trade.”
