Turkish looking at India as a next big player of textile business

India and Turkish trade relations have improved rapidly over the past decade. Trade volume between Turkey and India was $2.3 billion and $4 billion in 2009 and 2010, respectively. This figure reached $6 billion in 2013, according to the Indian Ministry of Trade and Commerce.

According to Ersin KaraoÄŸlan, the president of the Turkish Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TICCI), India has a large population with vast land and a huge market, all of which attract foreign investors to the country. India is a big player in the textile business and construction.

Turkish businessmen at the 83rd İzmir International Fair (IEF) can utilize opportunities in India as the world starts to pay attention to that country. Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) President Rızanur Meral said. Also TUSKON and TICCI have organized several trade trips to and from India. TICCI represents TUSKON in India.

According to the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, bilateral trade between Turkey and India reached $6 billion in 2012-2013. But as per Meral the trade deficit is against Turkey, as it only had 20 percent of the total bilateral trade.

TICCI Vice President Mehmet Ali Åžeker said that the major Indian exports to Turkey are cotton, chemicals, steel, mobile handsets, clothing and apparel. Turkey’s exports to India include textile machinery, automotive parts and steel.

Åžeker added that many Indian companies, such as M/s Polyplex, GMR Infrastructure, TATA Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance, Ispat, Aditya Birla Group, Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd., Jain Irrigation, Wipro and Dabur, have either invested directly or established joint ventures (JVs) in Turkey.

The governments of both countries have encouraged increased bilateral trade visits with separate trips over the past six years. During a visit of then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan to India in November 2008, the India-Turkey Business Forum was jointly organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) in New Delhi.

During a visit of then-President Abdullah Gül to India in February 2010, FICCI and TOBB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation. A bilateral MoU between the National Small Industries Corporation of India and the Small and Medium Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB) was signed during a visit of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee to Turkey in October 2013.

The two geographically distant countries India and Turkey likely to become two of the key economic figures in the world economic order in the years to come.