Second Turkish-German CEO Forum held in Ankara

A second Turkish-German CEO Forum was held in Ankara yesterday with the attendance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan. The forum was organized by the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) and the German Industrialists' Federation (BDI). Prior to the forum, Merkel and Caglayan held a closed meeting with businessmen from the two countries. Energy and innovation are the two key areas for Turkey and Germany to develop and deepen economic cooperation, CEOs from the two countries said in a joint declaration. 16 German and 16 Turkish companies attended the forum and the total turnover of attending companies amounts to $352 billion. Speaking at the forum, Merkel indicated that the trade volume between Turkey and Germany totaled €30 billion. "This figure may be increased. Investments coming from Germany are also very important for Turkey. These investments could also move us forward. In energy sector, there is need for co-operation. German and Turkish sides mentioned this topic. There is a significant growth rate in Turkish economy. If we take into account the development of infrastructure and cities, energy turns out be a very important area," she said. Merkel indicated that figures on Turkey's economic growth were highly crucial for them and the economic improvement in Turkey could be a model to countries which exert efforts to deal with debts. "The debt ratio in Germany is over 80 percent. As such, we can learn many things from Turkey," Merkel also said. Speaking at the forum, Caglayan underlined that the issue of visas left the Turkish business world in an unfair competition. "The issue of visas has become cruelty against Turkish businesspeople," Caglayan noted. "I would like to express that the Turkish business world expects to enter the eurozone without visas," Caglayan also said.  Merkel, for her part, said they were making efforts towards visa facilitation for Turkish businesspersons traveling to Germany, but for a visa-free travel Turkey and the European Union should reach an agreement on the re-admission issue. Caglayan also stressed that they wanted to see more German firms investing in Turkey. Furthermore, German companies interested in the third airport which is going to be built in Istanbul demanded information from Turkish side concerning the issue.