Turkey wants to be part of `Make in India' drive

Mumbai, Feb 23: Lauding the Narendra Modi-led Government for providing stability and predictability in policies, Turkey today said it wants to be part of the 'Make in India' programme, which could help treble the currently low bilateral trade volume.

"I personally think the biggest incentive here now is stability and predictability. We have a strong feeling that chances of this country being successful is very high as it has all the conditions in place," Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said. Admitting that trade volume between India and Turkey, members of G-20, is very low now, he said there is high potential to expand and deepen bilateral trades ties.

"In 2014, bilateral trade stood at mere USD 7.5 billion. But I see it to quadruple in next decade," Simsek told PTI in an interaction here. The visiting Minister appreciated the Government's flagship 'Make in India' programme and said Turkish companies are very excited to become part of the project, designed to transform India into a global manufacturing hub.

"Turkish companies cannot afford to miss the opportunities in India; they cannot afford to be left out in the make in India campaign. We want to be part of it," Simsek, here to promote Turkey as an investment destination, said.

Earlier in the day, he met industry captains, including Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry. Turkey is among the focused countries for the Tata Group, especially for its steel and power arms, which will be supplying electricity to the Mediterranean nation from its under construction Georgia plant, the diversified Indian corporate said in a note.

Simsek will be meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tomorrow in New Delhi. He said Turkish companies can participate in areas of technology, energy, machine equipments, infrastructure, petrochemicals, food and processing, among others. The Minister said by becoming part of the Make in India' campaign, both the countries can increase their trade volume apart from creating jobs. He, however, said awareness about opportunities here among Turkish companies is very low.

"In general, the core issue is that there is lack of awareness about opportunities here. The `Make in India' programme needs to be promoted in Turkey, where not many people are familiar with it."

PTI