In late March, the sun beats down on metre-deep snow. On slopes above, skiers glide. At a hotel in the town centre, over 500 top Turkish business people and opinion formers have gathered.
Welcome to the Uludağ Economic Summit in Bursa – a fantastic launch-pad for the UK-Turkey GREAT campaign.
The GREAT campaign is all about deepening business and education links between the UK and Turkey. In particular we want to:
- Double trade between the UK and Turkey (in both directions) by 2015, from the level in 2009;
- Boost British involvement in major Turkish infrastructure projects, and vice-versa;
- Boost Turkish direct investment in the UK (the UK was the biggest direct investor in Turkey in 2012); and
- Encourage the brightest and best Turkish students to come and study in British universities.
The British Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, launched the GREAT campaign at a gala dinner at the Uludağ Summit, along with Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Koç Holding CEO Turgay Durak. The atmosphere was terrific, as was the (deafening) soundtrack of mostly British rock and pop which followed the launch, eventually drawing many of those present onto the dance-floor – a special kind of co-operation.
Through it all the message was clear: Britain and Turkey are important partners, and we want to do more together.
You’ll see a lot more events in the GREAT campaign over the coming year. Watch this space.
More information is available on the UKTI Website for UK companies looking to do business in Turkey.
11 comments
Comment by steve collier posted on
it is good to see Turkey being brought to the fore, we have been working with Turkey for the past 5 years and the ease in working with our Turkish partners has helped us build great manufacturing links, it would be great to see our products made in Turkey being sold in Turkey also, this would give us a huge uplift in sales, more and more people from Turkey are buying online, sites like markafoni.com.tr have attracted huge investment and seen massive growth, although these are discounted sites, to have our branded products being offered to the huge Turkish population and for them to buy t-shirts with our brand name would only benefit us in building a global brand
Comment by steve collier posted on
it is good to see Turkey being brought to the fore, we have been working with Turkey for the past 5 years and the ease in working with our Turkish partners has helped us build great manufacturing links, it would be great to see our products made in Turkey being sold in Turkey also, this would give us a huge uplift in sales, more and more people from Turkey are buying online, sites like markafoni.com.tr have attracted huge investment and seen massive growth, although these are discounted sites, to have our branded products being offered to the huge Turkish population and for them to buy t-shirts with our brand name would only benefit us in building a global brand
Comment by steve collier posted on
it is good to see Turkey being brought to the fore, we have been working with Turkey for the past 5 years and the ease in working with our Turkish partners has helped us build great manufacturing links, it would be great to see our products made in Turkey being sold in Turkey also, this would give us a huge uplift in sales, more and more people from Turkey are buying online, sites like markafoni.com.tr have attracted huge investment and seen massive growth, although these are discounted sites, to have our branded products being offered to the huge Turkish population and for them to buy t-shirts with our brand name would only benefit us in building a global brand
Comment by ELS posted on
Yes ! Britain and Turkey can be important partners, and it is possible to make some business in partnership. Let's see this this Turkey doing business guide at http://www.turkey.doingbusinessguide.co.uk/
Comment by ELS posted on
Yes ! Britain and Turkey can be important partners, and it is possible to make some business in partnership. Let's see this this Turkey doing business guide at http://www.turkey.doingbusinessguide.co.uk/
Comment by Lyon posted on
I watched a few days ago an interview ans says "the Turkish economy will be the second fastest growing economy in the world by 2018 and will out-strip those of Italy and Spain in the next decade. Turkey with its large, young and well-educated population (latest estimate 77 million), is already a member of the EU Customs Union and is negotiating for full EU membership."
What about business and partnership in Turkey ?
Comment by Lyon posted on
I watched a few days ago an interview ans says "the Turkish economy will be the second fastest growing economy in the world by 2018 and will out-strip those of Italy and Spain in the next decade. Turkey with its large, young and well-educated population (latest estimate 77 million), is already a member of the EU Customs Union and is negotiating for full EU membership."
What about business and partnership in Turkey ?
Comment by Justin Harper posted on
Hello Leigh. I'm a freelance journalist based in Singapore who regularly writes for The Telegraph's Expat section. I'm writing a piece about the new Marmaray tunnel and what it means for Istanbul as an international city. Have you seen a rise in British companies or individuals looking to base themselves in Turkey? Do you expect to see such a rise?
Many thanks
Justin
Comment by Justin Harper posted on
Hello Leigh. I'm a freelance journalist based in Singapore who regularly writes for The Telegraph's Expat section. I'm writing a piece about the new Marmaray tunnel and what it means for Istanbul as an international city. Have you seen a rise in British companies or individuals looking to base themselves in Turkey? Do you expect to see such a rise?
Many thanks
Justin
Comment by Leigh Turner posted on
Justin - We have seen a steady flow of UK companies in recent months attracted by the continued strong growth of the Turkish economy – growing at an annual rate of 3.7% in the first half of 2013. British goods exports to Turkey were up 11.3% in the first eight months of 2013. So the opportunities are definitely there. The Marmaray tunnel can only help fuel further growth. We’re also excited about opportunities for growth in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, where we in Turkey are working with our embassies in the region to help encourage British companies to engage further in the region
Comment by Leigh Turner posted on
Justin - We have seen a steady flow of UK companies in recent months attracted by the continued strong growth of the Turkish economy – growing at an annual rate of 3.7% in the first half of 2013. British goods exports to Turkey were up 11.3% in the first eight months of 2013. So the opportunities are definitely there. The Marmaray tunnel can only help fuel further growth. We’re also excited about opportunities for growth in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, where we in Turkey are working with our embassies in the region to help encourage British companies to engage further in the region