Ladies and Gentlemen,

Namaste! (Merhaba)

I thank you for your kind words concerning Turkey and the relations between our countries.

I wish to express my appreciation for the warm welcome extended to me and to my delegation, since our arrival in Hyderabad. I also would like to thank Dr. Saugat Mukherjee, Director and Head of CII Office, and his staff for their tireless efforts to organize this excellent luncheon meeting.

I am delighted to be in your beautiful country. Being in India at this time of the year is a golden opportunity to escape from the harsh winter conditions of Turkey. The richness of culture and history, the exotic nature, and the lively colors of streets of charming India mystified all of us since the very first moment we have landed.

I feel privileged to be the first Turkish Foreign Minister paying an official visit to India almost after 30 years. I hope that my visit will constitute another landmark in the Turkish-Indian relations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Turkey and India share much in terms of history and culture which forms our rich past. The first sentence of the “Treaty of Friendship Between India and Turkey” that was signed in 1951 reads “Recognizing the ancient ties of friendship which have happily existed between the two countries”.

Actually, the initial contacts between our peoples date back not only to centuries but also to ancient times. A common event that binds our lands is the Aryan invasion which took place around 2000 B.C. This started the early Vedic Age in India and the Hittite dominance in Anatolia. The first relatives of modern Turks who have come to India were Kushans in the first and second century B.C.

The Turkish Baburid dynasty is the most well-known bridge between our cultures.

During the middle ages, the Ottoman Turks controlled the western end of the Bharat Road which also deeply affected the cultural interactions between our nations.

These contacts from Central Asia and the coasts of Mediterranean to the shores of Indian Ocean have influenced our attitudes and outlook. We have mutually contributed to each other’s languages, art, architecture, cuisine and even costumes.

When we take a look at our recent history, the Turkish National Struggle under Kemal Atatürk’s leadership marked a special chapter of our relations. We, in Turkey, still remember with gratitude the moral and material support, so readily and generously provided for our national struggle by the people of Sub-continent.

Parallel to this, we take a certain pride that our military and political victories in the 1920s made an impact on the first major mass movement and the struggle of freedom which was wisely led by “Bapu”, Mr. Mahatma Ghandi, against the imperial powers.

In a letter to his daughter Indira Ghandi, who was then 15 years old, the great visionary Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru recounted how the news of Ataturk’s victory at the battle of Afyonkarahisar (Dumlupınar) in August 1922 was joyously received by Indian freedom fighters. I quote: “Many of us were in the Lucknow district jail then. We celebrated the Turkish triumph by decorating our prison barrack with such odds and ends as we could gather and there was even an attempt at illumination in the evening”.

Distinguished guests,

Building upon this rich historical legacy, today, the modern principles of democracy combined with secularism, the rule of law, tolerance and pluralism are the common constitutional pillars of our states.

As we consider Turkey’s future role in regional and global politics, we draw some parallels with the rise of a democratic and increasingly powerful India in her region and the world.

We believe that Turkey and India have much to share in their future perspectives with a new realism. We should work together more effectively in this regard.

We follow with interest and appreciation India’s progress and social development supported by a fast economic growth in the last decade. Before coming to Hyderabad, I have visited Mumbai, too. In both of these cities, I witnessed the potential, dynamism and determination of India for a better future.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since my party came to office in 2002, we have always been eager to develop our mutually beneficial economic and trade links with India.

Why Turkey and India? And what do we expect from a bright future?

The answer is so simple. We both are fast booming economies of our respective regions and even beyond. The natural resources of Turkey and India, technological advantages in some specific sectors and the worldwide experiences of our private sectors can lead us to enjoy more extensive economic cooperation.

The legal framework for the expansion of our economic and commercial relations has almost been completed. Hence, there is a wider scope of cooperation between our private sectors in terms of more trade and mutual investments.

Let us take a closer look what Turkey offers for a future cooperation with India.

Today, Turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world and the sixth largest one among European countries with a GNP of 410 billion dollars. The GNP reached to almost 500 billion dollars by the end of 2007.

In the 2002-2007 period, the Turkish economy has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

The Turkish economy has been consecutively growing for the 23rd quarter.

Between 2001 and 2007 the cumulative growth rate of the GDP was 47.5 %. That is, 7.0 % per year on average.

Since 2002, the industrial sector has made the largest contribution to this remarkable growth rate.

The contribution of exports to growth is also increasing along with integration into the global economy and increased competitiveness.

The remarkable successive growth rates in the last five years are the clear indication of sustainable growth rates for future.

It is also important to call your attention to the fact that the private sector has been the engine of growth during this period.

During the same time period, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow into Turkey has reached a record level. With 20 billion dollars worth of FDI inflow in 2006, Turkey has found its place among the 7 OECD countries which attracted the highest amount of direct investments in the last decade. It is important to note here that we received the same amount of FDI in 2007.

FDI into Turkey is expected to increase over the next years since global interest into Turkish economy is growing.

In fact, Turkey offers a lucrative investment environment with its geographical location, a rising productivity level, developed transport network and industrial infrastructure, young and skilled human resources, investment incentives and low tax burden.

With its strategic location close to third markets like Europe, Central Asia, middle East and North Africa, Turkey stands alone as an ideal hub of global business and investments.

The yearly turnover of the İstanbul Stock Exchange reached 223 billion dollars in 2007. 70% of this volume has been produced by foreign funds.

Total assets of the Turkish banks reached 347 billion dollars in 2006. Scores of foreign banks are partners or sole owners of banks and financial intermediaries in Turkey.

Current population of Turkey is 71 million, and still % 66 of the population is below the age of 35. It is expected to be 98 million by 2040 which will make Turkey the most populous country in Europe with a dynamic and well-educated society.

All these impressive figures add up to one conclusion: growing confidence in the Turkish economy and greater prosperity for the Turkish people.

Turkey’s Customs Union with the EU since 1996 provides another opportunity for furthering its economic relations with India by providing Indian companies access to European markets without being subjected to customs duties. Several Indian companies are ready utilizing this advantage by investing in Turkey.

Dear Guests,

Let me briefly reflect on Turkey’s role in the field of global energy.

Turkey is located at such a critical geo-strategic crossroad where indeed ¾ of the world’s proven oil and natural gas reserves are laid.

In fact, Turkey forms a natural energy bridge between the world consumer markets and the resource-rich countries of the Caspian basin, Central Asia and the Middle East.

The first component of the East-West Energy Corridor, namely Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline was successfully completed and became operational in 2006. The second component of the Corridor, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline followed suit in 2007.

In addition, the Turkey-Greece Gas Interconnector is also finalized.

The Nabucco and Arab Gas Pipeline projects, which Turkey actively pursues for their realization, are also important for enhancing regional and global gas supply security.

Taking into account the capacities of the BTC, the Iraqi-Turkish Oil Pipeline and the Samsun-Ceyhan by-pass pipeline which is under development, as well as the oil transported through the Turkish Straits, it is expected that 6 to 7 per cent of global oil supply will transit Turkey in the near future. Moreover, following the construction of an oil refinery and an LNG terminal, Ceyhan shall become the “energy hub” of the region.

There is a big potential to deepen the Turkish-Indian bilateral cooperation in the field of energy. We can also work together as partners in third countries. The Caspian, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern and African regions are the high priority areas where we can work together.

I also would like to emphasize that important energy production and transportation projects have been launched in recent years in Turkey. In fact, Turkey’s energy investment portfolio is worth 125 billion dollars for the next 15 years. In this framework, we are planning to issue licenses for 3 nuclear power plants this year.

When I take into consideration the positive economic and development factors of India together with Turkey’s, I am of the view that Turkey and India have a great potential to create a perfect match.

In 2006 a new agency, Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT), was created, reporting directly to the Prime Minister, with representatives in 11 countries.

India occupies pride of place in Turkey’s endeavors to seek overseas investments. Our investment agency’s representative in India is Mr. Ravi Chaudhry and he is with us today. Mr. Chaudhry and his colleagues back in Turkey shall ensure that each Indian company receives expert advice before, during and after their entry to Turkey.

In that sense, let me highlight some main sectors that help boosting the Turkish economy. These sectors should also be considered as the areas of mutual investments for our future cooperation.

I believe that we should need to work together more effectively in the sectors of: energy, construction, iron and steel, tourism, agriculture, food processing, information technologies including computer hardware and software, electronics, pharmaceuticals, automotive, minerals, mining, gems and jewellery.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a result of the existing mutual political will between our governments to elevate our ties, our people to people contacts in trade and business have also reached new heights.

We have observed a significant increase in our trade volume and private sector ties for the last five years. The trade volume has almost tripled between 2003 and 2007 from 795 million USD to 2.6 billion USD.

Although there are prospects of giving greater content to our economic and trade relations, the trade deficit continues to increase in favor of India.

In order to balance our trade and place our economic relations on a fair ground, we are planning to implement a new “Trade Development Strategy” towards India in 2008.

My cabinet colleague Minister Tüzmen, who is responsible for foreign trade, will be paying an official visit to India next month to meet Indian business circles and some of his colleagues in the Indian Government. His visit aims at furthering economic and trade relations between our countries.

Minister Tüzmen will be accompanied by the representatives of prominent trade and construction companies of Turkey. We deem this upcoming visit as a political incentive and opportunity for business circles of both countries.

Last but not least, my Government is willing to start technical negotiations with a view to signing a free trade agreement with India. This will help to further our bilateral trade volume and strike a fair balance in the long run.

Distinguished guests,

Before concluding, I would like to underline the fact once again that we desire to deepen and broaden our economic and trade relations with India in every possible field where there is potential and mutual interest.

While thanking for your patience and kind attention, allow me to say that a better and a brighter future is waiting for us if we can open up the window of opportunities at the right time.

I believe that now is the right time and I am at the right place!

Chak de India and Turkey! (Haydi Hindistan ve Türkiye)