Turkey, Germany trade volume exceeds 25 bln USD: minister

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan has said that trade volume between Turkey and Germany exceeded 25 billion USD in the first eight months of 2011.

It was nearly 30 billion USD in 2010, added Babacan who spoke at Turkish-German CEO Forum in Berlin on Monday.

Babacan said that Germany was Turkey's number one trade partner.

Noting that almost three million Turks were living in Germany and they were contributing to economic, political and social life of Germany, Babacan said that four million German citizens were visiting Turkey each year, adding that the number of Germans who wanted to live in Turkey was increasing rapidly.

Babacan said that 4,688 German companies were operating in Turkey, and their investments had reached 4.6 billion USD.

Noting that Turkey was currently experiencing a political, social and economic transformation process, Babacan said that democracy was working well and developing in Turkey which was a highly Muslim populated country. He added that Turkey was a source of inspiration for other countries.

Commenting on Turkish economy, Babacan said that it was important to build a confidence milieu, adding that Turkish government focused on a privatization program and dropped budget deficit to 1.7 in 2011 which was one of the lowest budget deficits among European countries.

Noting that public financing and banking were two important problems for many countries in the world, Babacan said that Turkey remained sound in these two issues thanks to the reforms it fulfilled.

Turkey grew nine percent after the global shrinkage in 2009, and this year's growth figure was envisioned as 7.5 percent, said Babacan.

He noted that unemployment dropped four percent since 2009, and three million job opportunities were created in Turkey since that year.

Babacan also said that Turks, who were living in Germany, should be integrated well in German society.

Following his speech, Babacan proceeded to Washington. He will return to Berlin on Tuesday again, and participate in the meetings of Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.


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