Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar (R) and prime minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst (L) attended the opening of the Turkey-North Rhine-Westphalia Business Forum, organized in collaboration with the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and NRW.Global Business.
The prime minister of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state on Sept. 30 vowed to build on longstanding economic ties with Türkiye and further strengthen cooperation.
Hendrik Wüst made the remarks at the Türkiye-North Rhine-Westphalia Business Forum in Istanbul.
The event was jointly organized by Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and Germany’s trade agency NRW.Global Business.
“For decades now, people, ideas and investment have moved in both directions. Especially now, as international trade barriers increase and supply chains are under pressure, reliable connections are more valuable than ever,” Wüst said.
“Our aim is to build on these strong ties and strengthen our cooperation even further.”
He said the state government had agreed on a fast-track visa process for Turkish businesspeople to overcome lengthy processing times that hinder essential face-to-face cooperation.
Wüst backed efforts to modernize the 30-year-old European Customs Union and update EU industrial policy to reflect the current structure of global supply chains.
He described the Turkish economy as an indispensable part of the European value chain.
He noted that Türkiye stood out as a top player in foreign direct investment and ranked as the state’s third-largest trading partner.
More than one in three Turkish-owned companies in Germany are based in North Rhine-Westphalia, totaling about 1,300 businesses, he said.
Wüst also highlighted Türkiye’s large onshore wind market and investment in power generation and transmission infrastructure, saying energy prices and security were crucial to North Rhine-Westphalia’s heavy and energy-intensive industry.
“We see that Türkiye has one of Europe’s largest onshore wind markets,” he said.
He said new memorandums of understanding signed at the forum could create future partnerships and further strengthen economic and geopolitical ties.
The premier began his Türkiye trip on Sept. 28 and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara before his meetings in Istanbul.
