The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : ‘Turkey keen on free trade pact with India’

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Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

‘Turkey keen on free trade pact with India’

Special Correspondent

Turkish Foreign Minister in Hyderabad

PHOTO: P.V.SIVAKUMAR

Common platform: Ali Babacan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey,with Utpal Sen Gupta, vice-chairman, CII-AP, in Hyderabad on Thursday.

HYDERABAD: Turkey is keen on opening negotiations with India with a view to signing a free trade agreement between the two countries.

This was revealed by Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan during what was described as the first official visit to India in 30 years by a Foreign Minister of the country.

Before coming to Hyderabad, the delegation spent time in Mumbai.

At a luncheon session on ‘Turkey - India, Rich past, Bright future’, Mr. Babacan said the two nations shared much in history and culture and that contact between people was active since ancient times.

Trade volume in the 17th largest economy in the world had gone up three-fold in the last four years, Mr. Babacan said.

Another USP they had was the fact that 66 per cent of the 70 million population was below the age of 35.

Responding to a question, he said, “we do have a miniscule of Indian students in Turkey and vice versa, but we are definitely keen the number goes up,” he said.

Utpal Sen Gupta, vice-chairman, CII-AP, said there was every possibility of trade between the two nations getting stronger.

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