Turkey, South Korea sign major trade deal

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

Turkey moved to develop its multi-billion dollar bilateral trade with South Korea yesterday by signing a deal to harmonize their customs systems – the first such deal between the Asian nation and a European country.

The Mutual Recognition Agreement signed in Istanbul “will enable Turkey and South Korea to improve their cooperative partnership,” said Turkey’s customs minister, Hayati Yazıcı.

This latest deal comes in the wake of a 2012 free-trade agreement between Turkey and South Korea which has facilitated increased trade and closer business ties.

As of February 2012, more than 200 South Korean companies were active in Turkey, and Ankara has attracted foreign direct investment inflows worth over $370 million from the Asian country in the last 10 years.

Turkey has plans to start talks about similar customs harmonization with India, Jordan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Mexico, Yazıcı said. Yazıcı said that despite having high-level political relations, it was “still difficult to say that the relations in the field of economy and trade are at the desired level, but with the help of the MRA, the two countries will set out the process to implement, evaluate, monitor and maintain mutual recognition.”