Türkiye's State Minister Kursad Tuzmen met with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Economics Minister Laurens Jan Brinkhorst in Ankara on Tuesday, calling the visit a key opportunity to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.
The two officials reviewed ways to grow bilateral trade, currently valued at 4.6 billion USD. The Netherlands ranks eighth among destinations for Türkiye's exports and 16th as a source of imports.
Brinkhorst noted that the Netherlands has already established business support offices in Istanbul and Ankara, with a third unit planned to open in Izmir before the end of 2006.
The two sides also addressed an ongoing bilateral investment protection agreement, which Brinkhorst said they aim to finalize during a planned visit by Turkish ministers Ali Babacan and Tuzmen to The Hague in September.
On EU accession, Brinkhorst reaffirmed Dutch backing for Türkiye's membership bid, describing it as strategically significant for both Türkiye and the European Union.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2006, in its own words.