The centre-piece of the Minister’s programme was a meeting with his opposite number Zafer Caglayan, State Minister for Foreign Trade, and the launch of the UK/Turkey Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO). The purpose of the JETCO is to strengthen the business relationship between Turkey and the UK by highlighting trade opportunities and addressing problem areas.

During his visit, Lord Davies also had the opportunity to visit a Turkish white goods manufacturer with a significant investment in the UK; discuss with the Turkish Inward Investment Agency their strategy for marketing Turkey in the UK and the future investment climate; see UK retail investments at a major shopping mall; visit an innovative waste management facility; and discuss with Turkish and UK business representatives the opportunities and challenges of doing business in Turkey.

More than 1,600 UK businesses are already present in Turkey, including household names such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer. It is the UK's 24th largest export market for goods.

The UK’s bilateral trade with Turkey is worth $9 billion in 2008, with the trend strongly upwards over recent years.

Among the areas identified by UK Trade & Investment as offering opportunities for UK business in Turkey are low carbon, energy, construction and design.

Education is another strong focus, as the population of Turkey is 70 million, of which 50% are under the age of 28.

Lord Davies said regarding the visit:

“Turkey is a market with enormous potential for UK companies. Already, Turkey is the world’s 15th largest economy, and its growth has been forecast to rival China’s and India’s by 2017.”

“The UK has strong ties to Turkey, our partner in the G20, a fellow NATO member and an EU candidate state. I am delighted to attend the inaugural meeting of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee, which will help British and Turkish businesses to prosper via trade.”  

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