TUSKON head: "Trade between Turkey and chile could reach $1 bln within 3 years"

Trade between Turkey and Chile could reach $1 billion within 3 years if the two countries forge strong commercial ties, predicted Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) head Rizanur Meral yesterday. Speaking at a seminar in Istanbul on Turkey and Chile's recent free trade agreement, Meral stressed what he called the "substantial but underutilized" economic cooperation potential between one of the Muslim world's most populous nations and this key Latin America country. A 2009 free trade agreement between Turkey and Chile went into effect this March. With its population of 17 million and a gross domestic product of some $258 billion, Chile's profile among Latin American nations is on the rise. Last year trade between Turkey and Chile came in at $400 million, heavily dominated by Chilean exports to Turkey. Turkey now has free trade pacts with 14 countries, including with members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a bloc of four non-European Union member states located in Europe.