Babacan: New markets needed after regioanl turmoil

Turkey needs to explore new markets around the world for more lucrative opportunities for exports, Economy Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday. "Turkey has to look further for exports because our immediate region within a reach of 3 or 4-hour flight is in very dire circumstances," Babacan told a meeting of the European Turkish Democrats Union in Kizilcahamam town in the Turkish capital of Ankara. Babacan referred to Turkey’s established export markets in North Africa and the Middle East, two politically troubled regions that he said poses great risks. "The problems in those regions are negatively affecting us in terms of both surging oil prices and decreasing export revenue. And the European markets do not grow as they used to do in the past. All of these force us to find new markets," he said.