'Turkey aims to raise rate of exports meeting imports'

By Ugur Aslanhan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey aims to raise the rate of exports meeting imports and focus on e-commerce, the Turkish trade minister said on Friday.

Following Sunday’s local polls in Turkey, the economy will on the focus of the national agenda, Ruhsar Pekcan told a trade consultation meeting in Istanbul.

“In the upcoming four/four-and-a-half-year, we will have an agenda that will focus on projects and economy,” Pekcan said.

The Trade Ministry prepared several road maps, including on the update of Customs Union, Brexit, and new markets, she stated.

Pekcan stressed: “The upcoming era will be quite a performance period for us when we will take important steps in the economy.”

Also addressing the global economic problems, Pekcan said that it is predicted that the growth of EU economy and the world trade will decelerate.

“But developments in the technology area and new trends of the global economy create several opportunities,” she highlighted.

Pekcan said that the world has been experiencing a period when new generation technologies -- such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and Internet of things -- shape the world trade.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun