ID :
325261
Fri, 04/18/2014 - 12:29
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Trade Pact With Turkey Opens New Chapter In Bilateral Ties - PM Najib

ANKARA (Turkey), April 18 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement has opened a new chapter in bilateral ties between the two countries, said Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib said his second visit to Turkey, which aimed to enhance bilateral cooperation particularly through the free trade agreement (FTA), has succeeded in boosting the close ties established 50 years ago and would benefit both countries. "With the FTA, we can expect to achieve the target of boosting trade from US$1.5 billion to US$5 billion within five years. "We are positive about the target. Although the figure is big and the aim high, with the FTA the trade value is expected to increase by between 10 and 15 per cent a year. "The prospects are good with the FTA. Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he would table the FTA in Turkey's parliament for confirmation in June," he told Malaysian journalists at the end of his two-day official visit to Turkey which ended Thursday. Najib, who was accompanied by wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, left for home at 4am Friday. Malaysia and Turkey signed the FTA on Wednesday that would be a catalyst to boost bilateral trade to US$5 billion by 2018. Minister of International Trade and Industry, Mustapa Mohamed, and Turkey's Economy Minister, Nihat Zeybekci, signed the pact. The FTA is the seventh Malaysia has signed. It has also signed FTAs with Japan, Pakistan, Zealand, Chile, India and Australia. Najib said a joint technical economic committee would meet soon to discuss all the relevant issues and how the countries could benefit from more economic opportunities with the signing of the FTA. He hoped that Malaysian businessmen would capitalise on these opportunities to boost trade with Turkey which has benefitted from the close bilateral relationships. Najib also urged Turkish businessmen to increase their investments and trade in Malaysia. The Prime Minister also said Khazanah Nasional Bhd has invested US$1.4 billion to operate 20 hospitals in Turkey last year. "The market value of its investment is now worth US$2 billion. This is a significant invesment. Khazanah believed that its investment would bring in lucrative returns," he said. Najib said Khazanah, through Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB), has increased its stake in Turkey's second airport, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, from 20 per cent to 60 per cent. "This will give MAHB an opportunity to operate the airport which is among the biggest in the world," he said. On education, Najib said, the memorandums of understanding between Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM or National University of Malaysia) and Hacettepe University and UKM and Ankara University were expected to further boost bilateral cooperation in the area. "The Turkish government aims to increase the number of Malaysian students in the country, which currently stood at only 70," he said. On tourism, Najib said, Turkey was interested to increase the frequencies of the flights of Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur to six a week. He said a counter-proposal has been made on the visa-free entry for citizens of the two countries. Also the Turkish prime minister has proposed a cultural centre be set up in Kuala Lumpur, he said. --BEERNAMA

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