Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Speaking at the Forum, TOBB/DEİK President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that despite distance, Malaysia and the Malaysian people are special in their eyes.

Emphasizing that they cooperate in many international platforms, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The agreement which regulates the trade relations between our countries dates back to 1977. Since then, there have been agreements promoting bilateral commerce and investment. The positions of our countries present significant opportunity for cooperation. Turkey is in a customs union with the European Union. Turkey is Malaysia’s door into the EU market. Likewise, Malaysia is the gateway for Turkish entrepreneurs in the ASEAN market.

TOBB/ DEİK President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the economies of Turkey and Malaysia are both developing, “The combined economic volume of the two countries surpasses 1 trillion USD; the combined population surpasses 105 million in addition to the combined trade volume approaching 1 trillion USD. Malaysia has succeeded in diversifying its economy and mobilizing its people towards a singular goal while also being in possession of natural resources. Turkey on the other hand has achieved an economic transformation throughout the last thirty years, almost akin to a miracle in its scale, becoming the largest market economy between Italy and India.”

Drawing attention to how economic dynamism and political stability of the last 10 years have change the face of Turkey, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on: “It is evident that two such promising economies should be working more closely. Our trade volume which stands below 1.5 billion USD shows that we have much work to do.

That is why we put great importance on this, the visit of our Prime Minister. We put great importance on this business forum. We must come together more often. We must take part in more bilateral and multilateral projects together.

As the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, as the Turkish business community, we are prepared to do this. We are ready to do this as the Turkish – Malaysian business Council. I would like to thank our Prime Minister for attending the business forums. I believe that the coming days will be much more beneficial for our bilateral relations.”

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi and the Malaysian Minister of Economy and Industry Mustafa Muhammet emphasized the importance of bilateral Turkish – Malaysian trade relations and drew attention to their goal to complete the negotiations for the FTA in the next tour and raise the level of bilateral trade to 5 billion USD in the next 5 years.”