World’s 16th largest growth economy to boost trade with Sri Lanka

As Sri Lanka-Turkey bilateral trade volume crossed $ 200 million levels for the first time, the 16th largest economy in the world and the fastest growing country in Europe too wants to expand its bilateral trade with Sri Lanka.

“We want to expand our trade cooperation with Sri Lanka. Various business chambers of Turkey are keen on establishing links with the Sri Lankan private sector to expand bilateral trade,” revealed Serpil Alpman, Turkey’s visiting Ambassador ranked diplomat, on 26 November.

Alpman, who was leading a team of Turkish officials to Sri Lanka, was making a courtesy call on Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce on the same day at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Colombo when he expressed these remarks.

“We have become an important actor in global trade and we want to expand our trade cooperation with Sri Lanka as part of our expansion. We are now trying to make the needed reforms to join the EU and are targeting $ 500 billion exports across the world by 2023,” Alpman said.

“We also believe that direct air-links between Turkey and Sri Lanka can assist in strengthening current bilateral trade volumes in a considerable way. I am pleased to say that official discussions to establish direct air-links between Turkey and Sri Lanka are currently ongoing at higher levels.”

Bathiudeen, addressing Alpman said: “We warmly welcome you and your special team to Sri Lanka and I am pleased to inform Your Excellency that for the first time, our bilateral trade crossed $ 200 million (mark) in 2011, showing a total of $ 206 million. We too are keen on chamber level trade exchanges and new, direct air-links to boost bilateral trade further. We believe that there is strong but yet unrealised trade potential between both countries, which we should jointly explore through these measures.”

Turkey and Sri Lanka signed an agreement on air transportation in December 2008. Turkey was the fastest growing economy in Europe in 2011 with 8.5% GDP growth and the 16th largest economy in the world with a GDP of $ 770 billion (2011).  

Sri Lanka’s trade with Turkey has been on an increasing trend for the last few years. Turkey is the sixth largest pure Ceylon tea buyer in the world. Sri Lanka’s bilateral trade with Turkey grew by 6.6% in 2011 compared to 2010 but the total trade value which stood at $ 97.4 million in 2005 jumped to $ 206.5 million in 2011, registering 112% increase compared to 2005.

Sri Lanka’s major export items to Turkey are tea, textiles and apparel, man-made staple fibres, rubber, chemical products, cotton, vegetable and certain roots and tubers. The value of Ceylon tea exports to Turkey in various forms stood at $ 78 million in 2011.

The Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between Sri Lanka and Turkey was signed in August 2002 to further strengthen bilateral co-operation in the fields of economic and technical cooperation. All legal requirements were fulfilled and the Agreement entered into force, effective 27 November 2007.

Also present during the courtesy call were Aykut Renda, Embassy Official of the Turkish Embassy, New Delhi, Ezgi Ulusoy Yilmaz, expert from Expo 2020 Secretariat, Indhi Wijeratne, acting Turkish Counsellor in Sri Lanka, P.D. Fernando, Director General of the Department of Commerce, and Asoka Godawita, Assistant Director, Department of Commerce.