ANKARA - Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun said on Monday that he believed full membership of Turkey would bring an exceptional power to EU which was a regional power.
German Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor's parliament representative and deputy minister Gerd Anders and 15 German industrialists who arrived in Ankara together with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, visited Ali Coskun.
Speaking at the meeting, Coskun said that Turkey and Germany needed each other more in the reconstruction process in the world. Coskun stated that there were more than 2 million Turks living in Germany, which was ranked the first country in Turkey's foreign trade and industrialization.
Coskun said that Turkey needed technology and industry and that it wanted to provide it firstly from Germany.
Inviting German businessmen to take part in privatization in Turkey with their direct investments, Coskun stated that there was tax exemption in regions having priority in development in Turkey, free lands were allocated and 50 percent cheaper energy was provided to investors.
Gerd Anders recalled that German Chancellor Schroeder wrote in the special book at Ataturk's Mausoleum that Germany would always be beside Turkey as a friend and partner in latter's EU bid. Ali Coskun applauded those words of Schroeder.
Anders said that Turkey was having busy days and it expected a date from EU in December, recalling that a recommendatory decision had to be taken firstly about this issue. Anders noted that the German government gave full support to Turkey about EU issue.
Noting that the trade volume between the two countries increased by 12 percent recently, Anders said that Turkey's export to Germany was 7 billion Euros and its import was 9 billion Euros last year. Anders stated that it was possible to increase that amount, adding that all opportunities had to be used to this end. Anders also invited Industry Minister Ali Coskun to Germany.
In the German delegation which visited Coskun, there were representatives of Germany's leading institutions like Man, Siemens BASF, Vossloh, DR. Otker Holding GmbHS.
(Öª-AÖ) 23.02.2004