DUSHANBE - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday addressed Tajik businessmen and said, ''both we and Tajik government will help you. We want our businessmen to make investments here.''
Erdogan participated in Turkish-Tajik Joint Business Council meeting together with Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov.
Erdogan said Turkey and Tajikistan had a history culture sharing joint values, and noted that the two countries had a joint will to improve economic and trade relations.
Stressing that the world changed to a great extent in political sense in the past 10 years, Erdogan said a new period started with the end of cold war period. He said Turkey wanted to share its technology with Tajikistan, pointing out that, Turkey, after its transition program in 1980's to free market economy, signed Free Trade Agreements with 16 countries.
Erdogan said Turkish economy was face to face with some difficulties after Asia crisis and with several other crises, adding that composite interest, which had been more than 70 percent after November 3 elections, reduced to 28 percent nowadays.
Erdogan said Turkey wanted to be the distribution terminal of oil and natural gas in Eurasia region.
Stressing that Turkish-Tajik Businessmen Council was set during his term in office, Erdogan said he felt pleasure for being the first Turkish Prime Minister visiting Tajikistan.
Stating that relations between the two countries improved basing on mutual confidence and cooperation, Erdogan said there was no problem in relations, but that 20 million U.S. dollars trade volume had to be increased to 250 million U.S. dollars.
Erdogan said that Turkish contractors had to get their place in Tajikistan.
Noting that flights between Istanbul and Dushanbe would be organized twice a week, Erdogan said that ''it is our mission to bring closer Turkey and Tajikistan.''
Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov thanked Erdogan for being closely interested in cooperation among businessmen of the two countries. Pointing out that the meeting would contribute to development of economic and commercial relations between the two countries, Oqilov said that Turkey had a significant potential in economy and that they wanted this potential to be conveyed to Kyrgyzstan.
''This visit can be a new beginning,'' said Oqilov, adding that there were many common points when the past of the two countries was taken into consideration. Oqil Oqilov said that the potential between Turkey and Tajikistan was not sufficiently used, calling Turkish investors to set up joint companies with Tajik businessmen and found partnerships to use the natural resources of Tajikistan.
Oqil Oqilov asked the businessmen of the two countries to sign concrete agreements after the meeting.
Erdogan who later visited Turkish Embassy, left Kyrgyzstan for Turkey.
(ÖŞ-AY) 24.10.2003