Turkey advocates free trade zone in Middle East

The future of Turkish-Arab economic relations lies in the creation of a Middle Eastern free trade zone allowing for easy transfer of goods and people, a Turkish minister said Friday.

At the fifth Turkish-Arab Economic Forum, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek called upon Turkey and Arab nations to jointly eliminate barriers to investment, saying the overall plan is to create a free trade area in the Middle East.

He added it comes naturally for Turkey, a rapidly growing economy wanting capital and energy resources, to set up economic ties with Arab countries, many of whom are big exporters of both.

He said it is very encouraging that both Turks and Arabs have been making big strides in trade, adding proliferation of free trade agreements and lifting of visa restrictions are essential.

He cited that the number of Turkish tourists to Lebanon has quadrupled since visa requirements were lifted in January.

Besides, the minister said investment in infrastructure was of great importance, noting that many countries were making efforts to build high speed rails with the final goal of linking all these countries.

However, the Turkish minister voiced dissatisfaction over Turkish-Arabic trade volume, which was down to 29 billion U.S. dollars during the worldwide economic crisis in 2009.

Source: Xinhua