Turkey is close to inking a free trade deal with South Korea, according to Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, who is cultivating business contacts in the Far Eastern country during a visit this week.

“Turkey will attract much more investment through the free trade agreement,” the minister told journalists during his visit in Seoul, adding that South Koreans were interested in doing business with Turkey and buying materials from the country.

“In a short time we will attract an investment worth about $1.5 billion from Korea,” Çağlayan said. The investment will be in products that are currently being imported to Turkey, he added without disclosing the goods in question, Anatolia news agency reported.

Turkey plans to cooperate with South Korea in the construction sector, in which the latter is globally successful, according to Çağlayan, who started his talks in Seoul on Tuesday and will continue until Saturday.

The minister also said he discussed plans for Turkey’s Education Ministry’s nationwide project of producing 15 million laptop computers in Turkey in cooperation with South Korean authorities.

 “We will [also invite] Hyundai to establish a motor factory in Turkey when we meet [with the firm],” the minister said.

Turkey’s automotive sector leads the country in exports, but it imports $5 billion worth of motors and power trains, the minister said, adding that motor investments in the sector were thus important for the country.

South Korea interested in nuclear power

There are also initiatives in the field of energy, Çağlayan said. “The doors of my ministry and the [Turkish] state will be open to any bid by Korean firms regarding the [construction of] a nuclear power plant in Sinop,” he said, according to a Thursday report by daily Hürriyet.

/Hurriyet Daily News/