KARACHI - State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said on Tuesday that Pakistani entrepreneurs could not benefit sufficiently from advantages of 21 free zones in Turkey and called Pakistani companies to make investment in Turkey.
Delivering a speech in a seminar on ''Turkey-Pakistan Economic and Commercial Cooperation'', Tuzmen said that they wanted to further develop economic and commercial relations with Pakistan and stated that there were many opportunities in Turkey for Pakistani companies.
Stating that cooperation between companies of the two countries was not sufficient, Tuzmen said that there were only 23 Pakistani companies in Turkey. He added, ''there are 21 free zones in Turkey. Pakistani companies cannot make good use of those zones. Such mutual visits are of great importance for development of commercial relations between Turkey and Pakistan.''
Tuzmen who informed participants about developments in Turkish economy and economic program which was being carried out in his country said that Turkey's production and export potential increased thanks to the policies which had been followed since 1980s. He noted that Turkey exported more than 19,000 products to more than 200 countries.
Tuzmen added that they would decrease inflation rate below 20 percent this year.
Pakistani Privatization and Investment Minister Abdul Hafezez Shaikh said that they attributed great importance to improvement of relations between the two countries and stated that they were pleased with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Pakistan.
Noting that the number of Turkish businessmen who came to Pakistan increased twice this year when compared to the last year, Shaikh said that Pakistani businessmen should also go to Turkey and make more investment.
(EÖ-Öª) 07.10.2003