KIEV - Ukraine wanted Turkey to realize potential of its defense industry facilities, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said on Friday.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently paying an official visit to Ukraine, met with Yanukovych.
Following their meeting, Erdogan and Yanukovych held a joint press conference.
Yanukovych said that he also had the opportunity to meet with Erdogan during his visit to Turkish capital Ankara.
Two countries should work more to further improve bilateral relations, Yanukovych noted.
Yanukovych stated that they had established working groups in iron-steel industry in Ukraine and those working groups would speed up bilateral relations between Turkey and Ukraine.
Their target was to double trade volume with Turkey, Yanukovych pointed out.
Yanukovych said that obstacles before Turkish and Ukrainian businessmen should be lifted to double the trade volume.
His country wanted to work on giant investment projects with Turkey, Yanukovych stated.
Yanukovych said that two countries signed a mobile telecommunication agreement worth of 400 million U.S. dollars as the first joint project.
Asked if two countries had also military and political relations besides commercial relations, Yanukovych said that his country did not have any political problems with Turkey but he and Erdogan also took up political issues in their meeting.
Yanukovych stated that Ukraine would join NATO summit to be held in Istanbul in June and was working on military cooperation.
Ukraine had many important defense industry facilities, Yanukovych said.
Yanukovych pointed out that his country wanted Turkey to realize the potential of its defense industry facilities.
Noting that two countries could cooperate in Iraq's reconstruction, Yanukovych said that such a cooperation would be for the benefit of two countries.
When asked why Turkey could not fully make use of Ukraine's military power, Erdogan said, ''this is an issue open to competition and related with the former infrastructure and investments of other countries. This doesn't mean that you won't take joint steps and make joint investments. We have talked about this issue.''
TURKEY HAS BEEN POINT OF ATTRACTION OF MANY BUSINESSMEN IN LAST DECADE
Erdogan said that his meetings in Ukrainian capital Kiev had once more showed that there was strong cooperation and partnership between the two countries.
Erdogan stated that the world underwent important political and economic changes in the last decade and new balances of power had been establish as two-bloc cold war era ended. A new world order had started to shape up after the end of the cold war era, he pointed out.
Erdogan said that Turkey had taken determined steps as of 1980s to establish free market economy, ensure a comprehensive economic stability and implement liberalization policy.
''Turkey has been a point of attraction for businessmen from not only EU but also Middle East, East Europe, Central Asia and Black Sea basin for the last ten years. Also, it has been the door opening to these markets and undertaken the role of a bridge between these regions. Today, our efficiency in Eurasia and other regions are increasing thanks to our new position with the EU and thanks to our strategic and economic power provided by this position. We are strengthening our economic and political relations thanks to power we get from Eurasia,'' Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that Turkey recorded an economic growth of 7.8 percent in 2002 and 5 percent in 2003 and inflation rate fell to 18 percent in 2003.
Turkey aimed to make well use of opportunity to ''be a terminal of distribution'' of natural gas and oil in its neighbors, Erdogan said.
Erdogan stated that Turkey aimed to record a rapid growth rate till 2015 and it would make progress especially in automotive, electronic, and manufacturing industries.
Noting that trade volume between Turkey and Ukraine had reached 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, Erdogan said that they aimed to increase it to 5 billion U.S. dollars.
Erdogan stated that 250 Turkish companies were working in Ukraine and they had direct investments worth of 37 million U.S. dollars in that country.
Turkish contractors had undertaken projects worth of around 336 million U.S. dollars in Ukraine, Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that Turkey was the second biggest export market of Ukraine in their region and the fourth biggest trade partner in the world.
At the end of the meeting, concerned ministers of Turkey and Ukraine signed the agreement which foresaw 400 million U.S. dollars of investment of Turkish cell phone company Turkcell in Ukraine.
UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER HOSTS DINNER IN HONOR OF TURKISH PRIME MINISTER
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych hosted on Friday dinner in honor of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Following the dinner, Erdogan met with Turkish students having education in National Technical University of Ukraine.
Erdogan flew to Ukraine on Thursday. He was received earlier on Friday by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and later opened Ankara Square in Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan was decorated with honorary doctorate by the National Technical University of Ukraine Kiev Polytechnic Institute.
Erdogan met with Yanukovych and later, two prime ministers held a joint press conference.
Turkish and Ukrainian prime ministers then joined the meeting of Turkish-Ukrainian Business Council.
(BRC) 02.04.2004