ANKARA - The direct foreign capital drawn into Turkey in the first five months of this year exceeded 8.1 billion USD, Turkish State Minister Ali Babacan announced on Wednesday.
In an exclusive interview with A.A correspondent, Babacan said that the amount of direct foreign inflows to Turkey in 2005 was 9.7 billion USD.
According to Babacan, foreign investments in Turkey have increased thanks to economic achievements, structural reforms, good relations with international organizations, and Turkey's EU accession process.
''This is a historic record, and foreign capital inflow to Turkey will continue to rise in the rest of 2006, and the following years,'' he stated.
Babacan noted that 6.6 billion USD of foreign investments were made in Turkey in May, and also qualified this as a record.
-OBSTACLES BEFORE INVESTMENTS-
Turkey has taken steps to rehabilitate the investment climate, Babacan said.
''We have aired an internet portal named 'Invest in Turkey' in order to promote the investment climate in Turkey. Also, the parliament has adopted a law on establishment of investment incentive and promotion agency. We are at the beginning of this long and challenging process but we will go on walking on this path with determination,'' he added.