MONTREAL (A.A) - 26.06.2002 - State Minister Kemal Dervis and accompanying delegation met early on Wednesday with Canadian Exportation Development Department Chairman Ian Gillespie under the Montreal Conference.
Dervis later attended a round table meeting in which Canadian Foreign Minister Gar Knutson also participated and met with Canadian private sector representatives and public sector officials.
Representatives of companies making business with Turkey like SNC-Lavalin, Nortel, Netas, Bank of Nova Scotia, General Electrics, Hydro, Bombardier, Oz Optics and officials of some public institutions attended the meeting.
Turkish delegation members said after the meeting that issues about the economic and political situation in Turkey had been discussed.
They said that upon questions about Turkey's EU candidacy process, Dervis had said that the Copenhagen criteria were important and those rules were valid for everyone and that Turkey's EU path would be cleared after it fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria.
Noting that issues about the sectors had also been discussed, Turkish delegation officials said Dervis had stressed that especially automative sector recorded progress, exports had increased and exports to Europe had been about 70-80 percent, adding that contracting and construction sector was developing and new technology sector in Turkey had a potential of producer country for Europe.