Turkish President Erdoğan seeks to boost trade ties with Belarus

ANKARA/MINSK - Anadolu Agency

Turkey would like to boost economic ties with Belarus and increase the mutual trade volume to $1 billion, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a visit to Minsk on Nov. 11.      

“There was a drop in the trade volume between 2013 and 2015. But we can increase it to $1 billion in a very short space of time,” Erdoğan told reporters alongside his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
      
“This is not difficult [to do] when you consider the two countries have a combined population of 90 million,” he added.
      
Erdoğan noted that Turkish entrepreneurs had investments worth about $1.5 billion in Belarus.     

“The steps they [entrepreneurs] take together with businessmen here [in Belarus] would be a win-win for both countries,” he said.
      
Lukashenko, for his part, expressed his pleasure at Erdogan’s first ever visit to Minsk.      

“With your visit, I am sure we can take our relations to the next level,” he said.  
   
Erdoğan also attended the unveiling of a new grand mosque, funded in part by Ankara, built on the site of a historic mosque in Minsk.

He also addressed the Turkish-Belarus Business Forum later on Nov. 11.