PM meets with French investors in Paris

As part of his talks in Paris, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday addressed French businesspeople at a meeting of the Movement of the French Enterprises (MEDEF), giving a general outlook of the Turkish economy in recent years. Stating that Turkey managed to successfully emerge from the global economic crisis, Erdogan said, "We will continue to be cautious, and our aim is to continue positive growth in 2010 and afterwards." Citing how the Turkish financial sector grew by 8.5 percent last year, making Turkey the only Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) country that did not need any financial intervention due to the crisis, Erdogan said the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) topped European stock exchanges in terms of gains. "The IMKB broke a historic record two days ago, and all these positive developments occurred thanks to the stability and confidence achieved in the country." Erdogan said international organizations confirmed that Turkey would be among the most rapidly growing economies in 2010-2011. Erdogan said Turkey's net public debt stock's proportion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 45.5 percent, below European Union averages, adding that four international rating organizations upgraded Turkey's outlook to positive. Calling for the further improvement of the trade volume between Turkey and France from €10 billion last year to €15 billion in the years to come, Erdogan said, "Nine hundred French companies are operating in Turkey, and in 2009, French investments in Turkey were around €438 million. France is the number three country for investments in Turkey." Erdogan also said Turkish and French companies could cooperate on green energy projects and called for more French investments in Turkey. "We aim to contribute to energy security in Europe as we ensure our own energy security," Erdogan said. He said Turkey has gotten closer to EU membership with comprehensive political reforms, and reiterated Turkey's determination to continue its EU negotiation process. In Paris, Erdogan also met with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Parliament Speaker Bernard Accoyer, and addressed Turks living in France.