PM’S SPEECH AT THE INDIA-TURKEY
BUSINESS MEET
Following is the
text of the speech by the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
at the India-Turkey business meeting, at Istanbul today.
"It is a
great pleasure to be in the historic city of Istanbul. Your tourist
guides tell us that this is the only city in the world, which
actually spans two continents. Even in our brief stay in this
city, we have seen the impressive claim of this city to the heritage
of the East and of the West. We see also the imprint of the many
cultures, which have passed through this port, when it was a bustling
maritime junction for the Silk Route.
Istanbul has
retained its strategic importance for international trade. Today,
it is the economic capital of Turkey, handling 40% of its foreign
trade and host to half its national wealth. It is therefore a
most appropriate setting for this meeting of Indian and Turkish
businesspersons. I wish you rewarding deliberations and profitable
negotiations.
This is the last
engagement of my deeply satisfying visit to Turkey. I have had
cordial and fruitful meetings with the Turkish leadership. I was
encouraged by the identity of our views about the need for a new
impetus to our bilateral relations.
The long history
of friendly contact between India and Turkey should be translated
into a vibrant, revitalised economic partnership, based on our
respective strengths. This should cover not only trade in goods
and services, but also two-way investment, third country projects,
scientific research collaboration, joint commercialisation of
new technologies and many other areas.
We have agreed
that we would constitute a special bilateral Working Group drawn
from our Economic Ministries, to further this agenda. This group
should identify areas of promise in hitherto unexplored sectors
and analyse how they can best be developed. It would also recommend
policy measures to our governments for maximizing the benefits
from our cooperation.
To emphasize
the urgency of this task, we have specified that the Group will
submit its recommendations to the two governments within six months.
I am hopeful that the ideas that emerge from this group will be
creative and forward-looking.
This effort cannot
produce optimum results, without the whole-hearted participation
and support of the business communities of the two countries.
You have to come forward with constructive ideas, based on your
outlook and experiences.
In my discussions
with Prime Minister Erdogan, we agreed that despite the rapid
expansion of trade turnover to about 650 million dollars last
year, the full potential is yet to be realized. The first target
we have set is a turnover of 1 billion dollars by 2005. Even this
is well below the possibilities. I am sure the Bilateral Working
Group, which I have just mentioned, will have suggestions for
boosting trade. But there are some obvious and fundamental areas,
which we can identify straightaway.
The first is
the need to strengthen the infrastructure of trade facilitation.
The air link between Istanbul and Delhi, which resumed yesterday,
is an important first step in travel exchanges including for business
travel. Direct shipping links and easy banking channels are priority
requirements. We need to go further by establishing closer links
between our EXIM Banks and our export credit institutions.
A second obvious
problem area is of a lack of awareness in our business communities
of the available opportunities. This is an equal problem on both
sides.
Since India launched
its economic reforms in the last decade of the last century, it
has recorded an average annual growth rate of over 6%, it is now
the world’s fourth largest economy on purchasing power parity.
As we adjusted to globalisation, we sharply reduced tariff and
non-tariff barriers, introduced full capital account convertibility
for foreign investors and opened up inter-border current account
transactions. Our determined thrust for infrastructure modernisation
includes construction of 13,000 kilometres of four-lane highways,
a massive ports upgradation programme, and an expansion of capacity
of thermal, hydroelectric and nuclear power.
Our investment
in education and human resource development has equipped us with
the second largest scientific and technological manpower in the
world. Our advances in science and technology have today put us
in the forefront of the knowledge revolution and accelerated our
economic development process. We have a rapidly growing middle-class
– today estimated at about 300 million – which provides scientific,
technological and managerial skills, as well as a huge and growing
market.
There is insufficient
awareness around the world – including in Turkey – of these compelling
facts. Only this can explain the large imbalance in our trade.
With Turkey’s strengths and competitive advantage in infrastructure
industries, Turkish project exports to India in these areas should
normally have surged.
Equally, how
many in the Indian business community are aware of the impressive
economic record of Turkey? Its economy has shown enormous resilience
in the wake of a financial crisis two years ago, and regained
its growth in spite of natural disasters, war and instability
in its immediate environment. The economic reforms of Turkey have
retained their vibrancy. Turkey’s commercial presence in this
region extends from infrastructure industries to retail activity
and services.
I will give you
two examples of obvious gaps in awareness, still to be bridged.:
- India exports nearly 10 billion
dollars of an entire range of IT products, mainly to West Europe
and USA. However, Turkey’s share in this export is almost negligible.
- Our business delegation, which
is in Turkey, has discovered great opportunities for cooperation
in textiles, chemicals, two-wheeler vehicles and pharmaceuticals.
The short point,
therefore, is that we should have much more interaction between
our business communities – through increased travel, through seminars
and workshops, through trade fairs and exhibitions.
I am happy that
the India-Turkey Joint Business Council had a session earlier
today, and that an Indian Industry Exhibition has been launched
in Istanbul to coincide with my visit. While applauding them,
I would only like to point out that such activities should be
part of a regular on-going process, and not confined only to high-level
visits.
I understand
that Turkey is the main international partner for the India International
Trade Fair in Delhi later this year. I hope Turkish business and
industry will respond enthusiastically to this opportunity to
showcase Turkish expertise and technologies to an Indian market,
which has a huge demand for them, but is today sourcing them from
elsewhere.
Both India and
Turkey are similarly located in areas of expanding economic opportunity.
Turkey is at the crossroads of Europe, West Asia and Central Asia,
on the waterways linking the North African coast and the Black
Sea. The landmass from Central Asia up to the Mediterranean Coast
is a zone where our commercial interests and age-old culture ties
overlap.
Simple commercial
logic suggests that our entrepreneurs should join forces in sectors
of competitive advantage in these areas. Turkey can be a launching
pad for Indian business into an expanding European market. India
is itself an expanding market of a billion consumers, and also
provides access to vast regions in South and South-East Asia.
India and Turkey
have other objective conditions for rapid diversification of economic
cooperation. We are stable, democratic nations with a tradition
of respect for the Rule of Law. We have the requisite legal framework
to protect investments and encourage business. We have effective
regulatory bodies and independent judicial systems.
We have the bilateral
framework of agreements to support an expansion of our commercial
ties. Our business associations have developed relations with
each other. I was happy to hear yesterday that the Confederation
of Indian Industry now plans to open an office in Turkey.
Thus a proper
foundation already exists to build a structure of strong economic
links.
The substance
of my message to you – and indeed of my visit to Turkey – is that
we need to raise our relationship to a qualitatively new level.
For this, we need a long-term vision of a future India-Turkey
partnership, based on our respective strengths and comparative
advantages. On this visit, I have been convinced that there is
willingness on both sides to develop such a vision.
Governments can
only encourage and facilitate this process by creating the necessary
infrastructure and ensuring the necessary legal framework. After
that, it is for business to pick up the gauntlet, I hope you will
devote some thought to this during your deliberations here. I
also hope that business and industry on both sides will maintain
uninterrupted contact and dialogue to achieve this objective.
Thank you."