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India, Turkey target $500 mln trade in next 2 yrs

NEW DELHI: India and Turkey have agreed to raise the volume of annual bilateral trade to $500 million over the next two years from the current $300 million, an Indian government statement said on Wednesday.

It said Turkey showed interest in economic cooperation in energy generation and distribution, oil drilling and refining, communication, maritime transportation, drugs, electronics, food processing and packaging.

Products and sectors identified for stepping up exports from India were construction material, software, information technology, pharmaceuticals, textiles and garments, auto-components, agro-products, dyes and dyestuffs, machine tools, gems and jewellery, leather products, vehicles, aluminium and steel products, the statement said.

Irrigation, petroleum, telecommunications as well as and oil and gas exploration were identified as promising areas for joint ventures in third countries, it said.

The statement said the agreement was made during an India-Turkey Joint Commission Meeting in New Delhi on February 8-9.

The meeting was chaired by Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran and a Turkish minister of state, Abdulhaluk Memet Cay and both sides held extensive discussions on bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

India had also requested Turkey to allow it to export meat and meat products as the country has been declared rinderpest-free, the statement said.

India has asked Turkey for a licence free regime for its textile exports, relaxation of additional testing requirements for medical disposable products such as syringes and the lowering of duty on import of spices from India, it said.-Reuters