Latin American firms seek Turkey investments at TUSKON meet

A total of 80 businesspeople from 10 Latin American countries met in Turkey's Kayseri province on Tuesday to discuss investment and trade opportunities with local counterparts in a new “trade bridge” event held by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON).

The title “trade bridge," which TUSKON uses for its trade and investment events, is inspired by the semi-annual summit Turkey-World Trade Bridge, which has been organized by the confederation since 2006. Company representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Haiti, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Jamaica, Mexico, Colombia and Cuba talked business with 250 Turkish investors at Tuesday's event in Kayseri. Speaking at the inauguration of the event early on Tuesday, TUSKON Chairman Rızanur Meral said the confederation has accelerated efforts to boost trade and investment ties with the Americas since 2006, adding that the region has offered serious investment opportunities for Turkish companies.

“Looking at the 10 countries that are present here today, these are fast-developing markets that enjoy a strong demand due to a total of population of 490 million. … They are also a door to an even larger customer potential on the American continent and elsewhere,” Meral commented on Tuesday. Meral also said the Turkish schools established in the region have served to cement ties between businesspeople from Turkey and the Americas as well as introducing more locals to Turkey.

Speaking at Tuesday's event, the Argentinean ambassador to Turkey, Juan Jose Arcuri, said investors from his country thank TUSKON for their efforts to introduce them to Turkish markets and help boost the bilateral trade volume. Arcuri was quoted as saying in Turkish media that TUSKON helped Argentines better understand the Turkish market and economy while correcting misinformation regarding Turkey's past.

Also delivering a speech at the event, the Colombian ambassador to Turkey, Fernando Panesso Serna, said Turkey and his country cultivated good relations not only in tourism but also in trade and investment over the past decade.

TUSKON launched the first of its foreign trade bridges in 2006, targeting African nations. The initiative then stretched from Africa to the Pacific region and most recently to Eurasia and Balkans. Turkish participation in the event is not limited to TUSKON member companies. The union is famous for its efforts to increase collaboration and mutual commercial relations with parts of the world with which Turkey has low trade volume. It also pays attention to the specific strategies of the Turkish state for certain markets.

Published on Today's Zaman, 29 April 2014, Tuesday