ANKARA - ``Turkish contractors will undertake projects worth of 12 billion USD abroad within this year,`` affirmed Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen on Monday.
Taking the floor at a symposium in Ankara on ``International Economy and Turkey: Opportunities and Threats``, Tuzmen said, ``last year our contractors took in charge 9.3 billion USD of projects abroad.``
``Turkey`s main foreign currency inputs are exports (73 billion USD), and tourism. Contracting services in foreign countries will become another asset for Turkey and its earnings will match tourism incomes in a near future,`` he noted.
Tuzmen also added that Turkey increased two folds its foreign trade volume in the last three years.
He said, ``thanks to Turkey`s ``strategy of neighboring & surrounding countries``, export to neighboring countries constitutes 30 percent of Turkey`s foreign trade volume.``