Turkey, US accelerate works to boost trade: Minister

By Merve Ozlem Cakir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish and U.S. trade ministries is establishing a working group to achieve bilateral trade volume target, the country's trade minister said.

In February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to further enhance economic relations, setting a goal of $75 billion in bilateral trade.

"We are working on […] export booster activities especially in high technology products," Ruhsar Pekcan, Turkey’s Trade Minister, told Anadolu Agency following her visit to the U.S.

Pekcan attended a three-day business event in Washington earlier this week.

She was accompanied by Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Energy and Natural Resources Deputy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.

Stating that Turkey aims to set up new free-trade zones specialized in R&D, and high technology and high added-value activities, Pekcan said she invited American companies to invest in those areas.

"These zones can be used by Turkish-American joint ventures. We are ready to support those who invest in free zones," she said.

Pekcan added that Tukey and the U.S. reached a mutual understanding on conducting joint works in the field of digital economy.

A delegation of digital economy from the U.S. is expected to pay a visit to Turkey in May, she stated.

*Writing and contribution by Tuba Sahin