By Gokhan Ergocun and Yunus Turk
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Airlines' new routes to Australia are vital for the development and expansion of the country’s relations with Türkiye, said the consul-general of Australia in Istanbul.
"We not only have people-to-people links that are refreshed and brought closer; the number of people that can travel directly is much further expanded," Tony Huber told Anadolu.
"You’re seeing a lot of tourists both ways. You’re seeing a lot of businesspeople that are making their way now, and you’re also seeing a general business expanding between the two in different areas, services related," he said.
Huber predicted that as familiarity between the two countries grows, prospective investment opportunities will surpass those of the past.
At the end of November, Turkish Airlines began flying to Sydney — the air carrier's second destination in the country after Melbourne.
Huber said Turkish Airlines’ connections offer the biggest network in the world, adding: "I think that Australian businesses see the opportunities."
- Trade relations
On bilateral trade and economic ties, Huber said the trade level between Australia and Türkiye is rather modest, and that reflects the distance between the two countries and the fact that there are many other countries that Australia is supplying that are closer to it.
But that paradigm is changing, and now the parties are seeing around 2-3 billion Australian dollars ($1.28 billion to $1.92 billion) in trade, and it is roughly balanced.
"Last year, we had an increase in agriculture exports, and that reflected the fact that there were competitive and seasonal products that Türkiye needed at the time, and Türkiye has products evenly based across a wide range that are being sent to Australia," he said.
There are also new areas of business that Türkiye is engaging with Australia in within the services area, and one of those is aviation, he underlined.
He said cargo flights are also in the cards for business relations between Türkiye and Australia.
Turkish Airlines is aware of the available slot range, and despite some residual restrictions delaying shipments in certain areas, the skies are largely open, offering numerous opportunities and substantial capacity, he emphasized.
Turkish Airlines is serving many routes that Australia has not, he said.
He recalled that Australia has a new airport, Western Sydney Airport, which is due to open next year that is interested along with the country's other major airports in supplying air freight.
"So we have air freight connectivity. We have all the features," he added.
- Istanbul hub for Australian businesses
Türkiye is advanced in manufacturing and services, and it is taking its strength into new areas of business that it was not doing before and reduces its reliance on other countries, Huber said.
Australia is also a great supplier of food and commodities, and it is a particularly fortunate country in terms of supplies of some of the critical minerals that are needed to help fuel the change to green-friendly process to economies all around the world, he stressed.
"I think that certainly Türkiye and Australia have complementarity," he noted.
On the other hand, Türkiye has become an important market and Australia has some very great strengths, he said.
"We hope that we can develop new links with Türkiye, not only in the supply of the minerals themselves, but in the services and the knowledge that we have," he added.
Last year, Australia had only hundreds of students from Türkiye, but since the direct flights were implemented, the country has seen an expansion to around 6,000 or 7,000 students from Türkiye, he said.
"Istanbul as a hub, I think it will come on the agenda a lot more than had been in the past.
"Old shipping is much slower, but the connection that Istanbul offers, with I think around 340 destinations, really does open up opportunities for Australian businesses to link to those other parts of the world," he added.
Touching on energy field, Huber said there are great opportunities between the two countries, as Australia has vast reserves of gas and Türkiye has gas pipelines which pass through it.
"So we are all participants in the supply chain of the energy market," he said.
For both countries' efficiency, the technology can be shared, he added.