Tatarstan President and Minister of Trade of Turkey discuss the development of trade turnover and cooperation in the sphere of Halal industry

On May 16, during his working visit to Istanbul, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov had a meeting with Minister of Trade of Turkey Ruhsar Pekcan.

Pekcan welcomed Minnikhanov and expressed her confidence that a visit of the Tatarstan delegation to Istanbul and the Tatarstan-Turkey business forum will open up new ways for the development of mutual cooperation. “Our investors have extensive experience in doing business in Tatarstan. You always support them and I would like thank you for this. We want Tatarstan companies to develop their business projects in Turkey and are ready to help them. This will expand our ties greatly,” she continued.

She stressed that in 2014, the trade turnover between Turkey and Tatarstan exceeded 900 million US dollars. However, to date, these figures have decreased slightly. “The existing numbers do not meet our potential. It is necessary to bring the volume of mutual trade to 1 billion US dollars. I believe that this task is achievable,” Pekcan added.

The Minister noted that the halal industry is one of the promising areas of cooperation. “Today more than 20 million Muslims live in Russia. They should be provided with quality halal products and halal services. We have extensive experience in the industry. We could also establish cooperation in this sphere,” she went on to say.

Minnikhanov supported the Minister, noting that Tatarstan also attaches great importance to the development of the halal industry. He said that Kazan hosts the annual KazanSummit International Economic Forum, with the halal lifestyle being an important topic of the event.

“The Halal industry is not only food, but also a variety of different areas, including medicine, tourism, cosmetology and others. There is no doubt, the halal field creates good opportunities for business development. I agree with you that this is a good field for intensifying cooperation between Tatarstan and Turkey,” Tatarstan President said.

Minnikhanov also told the Minister about work with Turkish investors and the development of new areas for cooperation between Tatarstan and Turkey.

Then. Minnikhanov and Rekcan took part in the Tatarstan - Turkey business forum.