Gul attends Turkish-Indian business council meeting in India's trade magnet Mumbai

As part of his official visit to India, President Abdullah Gul yesterday attended the opening ceremony for a Turkish Consulate in Mumbai, India's business hub. Briefed by Turkish Ambassador to New Delhi Levent Bilman and Turkish Consul in Mumbai Murat Ahmet Yoruk about their work, Gul later banged the gong to open the morning session of the Mumbai Stock Exchange. Speaking to reporters, Gul expressed happiness at visiting Asia's oldest stock market. Praising the Indian economy's dynamism, he said in recent years India grew by about 9 percent annually. In Mumbai, Gul also addressed a meeting of the Turkish-Indian Business Council, calling on entrepreneurs from the two countries to make mutual investments. Stressing that there is a great untapped economic cooperation and trade potential between Turkey and India, Gul said that he was sure Turkish and Indian businesspeople would realize this potential in the years to come. Calling India a country of great opportunities, Gul said, "We're excited about the Indian government's planned investment figures we heard about during our talks with the country's top officials." Welcoming Indian officials' call for Turkish investments in their country, Gul said, "India is among the countries that weathered the global economic crisis with the least damage. Likewise, Turkey managed to stand on its feet during the most acute period of the crisis as well." Saying that the growing Indian economy would help the world economy, Gul added that Indian officials had pledged to cut red tape to ease foreign investments. Gul also attended a banquet hosted in his honor by Turkish companies doing business in India, and enjoyed performances by traditional Indian dancers and a group of Bollywood stars.