Verhagen praises Turkey's economy

A delegation of 100 persons from private sector, chaired by Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu, accompanied President Abdullah Gul during his visit to the Netherlands. During the Turkish-Dutch Business Forum and the CEO roundtable meeting which was organized on sidelines of the forum, the cooperation areas which were prioritized by representatives from business life of the two countries were discussed. For his part, Hisarciklioglu said that trade volume between the two countries amounting to more than 5 billion Euros was promising in terms of their cooperation in the future, and called on removal of visas so that commercial relations between the two countries could be brought to a desired level. Speaking in his part, Maxime Verhagen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Agriculture and Innovation of the Netherlands, stressed that Turkey is the 17th largest economy worldwide, whereas the Netherlands ranks the 16th in the same category. Verhagen added that this ranking might change and Turkey might outreach the Netherlands in upcoming years.