Hyderabad drives India towards progressive path: Turkish Minister

Hyderabad, Feb 7 (UNI) Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said India had become a fast growing economy in the recent times and stressed that Hyderabad had immense potential dynamism and determination to drive India towards a progressive path.

Addressing a luncheon session with industrialists, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry, he recalled the ancient ties between both the countries.

He highlighted the fact that both India and Turkey were rich in natural resources and there was immense opportunity for expansion of economic and commercial ties between the two countries.

'' Turkey was the 17th largest economy in the world and the sixth largest among European countries with a GNP of US Dollar 410 billion. Between the years 2002-2007, the Turkish economy had benchmarked an average of seven per cent growth rate,'' Mr Babacan noted.

He also stressed the fact that the private sector of Turkey had been the engine of its growth in the recent times. Industry and exports had also been a major contributor in Turkish growth story.

FDI into Turkey had also increased over the years and the Istanbul Stock Exchange reached US Dollar 223 billion in 2007, he added.

Today Turkey had become one of the lucrative investments hubs of the world.

Earlier, welcoming the delegation, CII Andhra Pradesh Vice-Chairman Utpal Sen Gupta highlighted the business cooperation between the two countries and thanked the Foreign Minister for visiting India after almost 30 years, making it a landmark in Indo- Turkey relations.

He also highlighted on CII's role of being a catalyst in building India as a developed nation and mentioned that the industrial fraternity in Andhra Pradesh was keen in exploring various business opportunities in Turkey.

UNI BR VD HT2128