Tuzmen: "Turkey is on the offensive against the economic crisis"

Rather than playing defense, the government is taking an aggressive strategy to soften the blow of the global economic crisis on Turkey's exports, State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen said yesterday. Touting his official visits this year accompanied by large business delegations to regional neighbors such as Azerbaijan, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Russia, Tuzmen said they signed business deals worth $1 billion during the trips. Speaking to reporters en route to Tbilisi, Georgia for a similar visit, Tuzmen said, "Demand has fallen in many countries across the world, including Turkey's chief trading partners like Germany, and the crisis has hit exporters. In view of this, we're working to boost Turkey's trade relations with neighboring and regional countries with more isolated economies less integrated with the global economy, and that's why the crisis has a limited impact on them." Stating that Turkey places great importance on its trade ties with Georgia, Tuzmen said that last year the trade volume between the two countries hit nearly $1 billion. If Turkey's annual exports hit $100 billion this year, this will be a great success at a time of crisis, Tuzmen added.