Rustam Minnikhanov: Tatarstan is one of the leading Russian regions in terms of trade, economic and investment cooperation with Turkey

On July 8, speaking at a plenary session of Russia-Turkey Industrial Forum “Industrial partnership: new tasks and prjects”, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that Tatarstan is traditionally one of the leading Russian regions in terms of trade, economic and investment cooperation with Turkey.

The session was held during the Tenth International Industrial Trade Fair Innoprom-2019 in Yekaterinburg. Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Denis Manturov and Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey Mustafa Varanka attended the event.

Minnikhanov emphasized that Tatarstan focuses on expanding cooperation with Turkey aimed at strengthening relations between Russia and Turkey. He expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for creating favorable conditions for multifaceted interaction.

Minnikhanov said that a cooperation agreement is in force between Tatarstan and the Republic of Turkey. The Consulate General of Turkey is successfully operating in Kazan, and there is a representative office of Tatarstan in Istanbul. Kazan has twin-city relations with a number of Turkish cities. As many as 17 cooperation agreements have been concluded at the inter-municipal level. Regular daily flights are operated between Tatarstan and Turkey.

“About 25 per cent of Turkish investments in the Russian economy amounting to more than 2 billion US dollars are concentrated in our republic. Our trade turnover is growing, but there is still something to strive for. For example, the volume of mutual trade reached 3 billion US dollars a few years ago,” Tatarstan President said.

Tatarstan is interested in various spheres of interaction with Turkey, Minnikhanov noted. In particular, he mentioned such areas as power engineering, petrochemical industry, engineering and automotive industry, IT and other high technologies, health, construction, agriculture, tourism, exchange of experience in the field of support for small and medium-sized businesses and other spheres.

“We have enough opportunities for developing business relations. Turkish companies operating in Tatarstan have made sure of that. We should use the existing economic potential to increase interaction more actively,” Minnikhanov concluded.

Then, a number of agreements were signed between Russian and Turkish companies in the presence of Minnikhanov, Manturov and Varanka.