Turkey, India agree to sign free trade deal

State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan yesterday received Indian Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma, who was in Ankara to attend a meeting of the Turkish-Indian Economic and Technical Cooperation Joint Committee. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Caglayan told reporters that they had agreed to set up a working group to forge a free trade agreement between Turkey and India , set to hold its first meeting next month. Caglayan said trade last year between Turkey and India totaled $3 billion. India will see infrastructure and other construction projects worth $500 billion over the next decade, Caglayan said, adding that it's important for Turkish firms to get a piece of this pie. Caglayan also said the two countries could cooperate in the medical, chemical, communication, information technology and textile sectors. Caglayan said that with the expected free trade agreement, India would become a neighbor to Europe . For his part, Sharma told reporters that they would provide more incentives to public sector companies and encourage companies to make joint investments in Turkey and India . Sharma said the trade agreement and general economic cooperation would develop relations between Turkey and India .