Coskun: We Invite Foreign Investors To Invest In Energy Sector In Turkey

ISTANBUL - Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun said on Wednesday, ''we invite foreign investors to make investments in Turkey's energy sector. We know that foreign investors experienced some difficulties in the past. But I call on them to forget these difficulties, and invest in Turkey again.''
The Second Energy Forum organized in cooperation among the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), started in Istanbul.
Speaking at opening of the forum, Coskun highlighted importance of energy sector in regard to development of social economy.
''Turkey could not well-assess its strategical position between oil producer and consumer countries for years. Unfortunately, we are behind many member countries to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in production and consumption of electricity. Production and consumption of electricity shrank by 1.4 percent in 2001 due to economic crisis,'' he said.
Coskun stressed that they would remove all obstacles in front of industrialists and international capital.
''Our only chance is to increase competition power for development and industrialization of Turkey. We can increase our competition power by solving problems of energy sector,'' he said.
Coskun added, ''we invite foreign investors to make investments in Turkey's energy sector. We know that foreign investors experienced some difficulties in the past. But I call on them to forget these difficulties, and invest in Turkey again.''