Turkey has 'best' opportunities for Japanese firms

By Deniz Cicek Palabiyik

TOKYO (AA) - Turkey has "best" opportunities for the Japanese firms, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Monday.

"Turkey is a country that has best opportunities for the Japanese firms in the world," Zeybekci said at a seminar titled “Turk-Japan Construction Cooperation” in the capital Tokyo.

Zeybekci said Japan firms will earn more while investing in Turkey compared to other countries by taking into consideration Turkey's 81 million of population.

"Turkey is not limited to its geography," he said, adding the country is in the middle of Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus and the Balkans.

"Turkish companies offer such a wide geography as an opportunity to their Japanese partners," he added.

Zeybekci believes if Turkey and Japan come together, the duo will "easily" leave China behind in important markets since they have technological and financial opportunities.

After the seminar, Zeybekci and Japanese Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii signed a memorandum of understanding on construction services in the third countries.

According to Turkish Foreign Ministry, 200 Japanese companies operate in Turkey, while five Turkish companies operate in Japan at the end of 2017.

The Japanese foreign direct investment in Turkey was $2.2 billion for the period between 2002 and 2017, it added.