16.06.2017 Toronto / Canada
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu drew attention to the low bilateral trade volume and emphasized the need to improve upon it. President Hisarcıklıoğlu relayed his observations to an AA reporter after talks in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto during his visit to Canada.
“There
is a great export and import market in Canada, and the trade volume with Turkey
is a drop in the ocean. There is a tremendous potential here. They have direct
links to all countries with free trade agreements like NAFTA in North America
and the EU as well as other parts of the world, but we are nowhere to be found
in this market.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
went on:
“The
time has come to develop trade between Turkey and Canada. We discussed what we
can do to rethink, develop and push our relations with Canada. It was a very fruitful
visit. This is actually a good start. We agreed that the signing of a free
trade agreement between the two countries is our most important demand. We received
positive approaches. There is great potential in Turkey and Canada. We must
mutually explore our potential. We believe that we will get positive results if
we do so.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
underlined that the Canadian visit was a first in terms of business world, “This
visit was a first. Our partners showed great interest. They invited us to come again
with a larger committee. We invited them to our country. I believe we will make
significant improvements in the near future.”
TOBB
President pointed out that the US with a population of 400 million is right
next to Canada, and Canada is one of the easiest entry points if your target is
the US market. When you enter Canada, you have a chance to reach a population
of about 1 billion. There are great opportunities here. We conduct very little
to no trade in this region. Canada imports 400bn$. You have a chance to sell
everything as long as you utilize this market. In this context, Canada is one
of the countries that the Ministry of Economy has prioritized. We are committed
to doing what we need to improve our involvement.”
- Hisarcıklıoğlu’s teleconference
with Ereğli from Canada
Hisarcıklıoğlu
held teleconference with Ereğli Chamber of Commerce and Industry's during iftar.
The TOBB delegation headed by M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu left the country after
his talks in Canada.