Caglayan: "Turkey could clinch $160 bln in exports by 2013"

By 2013, Turkey's exports should be up to $160 billion, Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan told the Anatolia news agency over the weekend. The notable economic growth Turkey saw in 2010 is expected to continue this year, he added, saying that the mid-term economic program through 2013 focuses on investments to bring down unemployment and boost exports. "If the global economic recovery continues in the near future, we'll be able reach export figures of $160 billion by the end of 2013," Caglayan said. Since the 1980s, Turkey has pursued an economic growth strategy based on higher exports, and so shifted its inward-oriented industrialization model to an outward-oriented one, he said. "Thanks to this model, Turkey's exports have become one of the driving forces behind the nation's economy," he added. Turkey's previous goal was to sharpen industrial competitiveness to get a greater share of global exports, he said. "Towards this end, we tried to develop a planned, proactive foreign trade policy," he explained. "In this context, our aim is to transform Turkey into a country with exports of $500 billion by 2023." Last year's exports were recently announced at some $113 billion – an 11.3 percent increase year-on-year, but falling short of the 2008 record high of $132 billion. Turkish businesses should explore the European Union and emerging African countries to improve Turkey's trade ties there, he said. On the recent push towards exports to Africa, Caglayan stressed that reworking Turkey's strategy has led to a significant boost in trade ties. Last month Caglayan led a large delegation of businesspeople on a visit to nine African countries – Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Ethiopia – where they attended several joint business forums. Along the same lines, he is expected to visit Tanzania and Ethiopia in March. Also part of Turkey's strategy to boost exports, Caglayan said he hopes to sign further free trade agreements with various European countries.