ISTANBUL
It is important for Turkey to cooperate with New Zealand in the agriculture sector, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Thursday.
Zeybekci made the remarks at the Turkey-New Zealand Business Forum in Istanbul, which was also attended by New Zealand’s Trade and Enterprise Minister Tim Groser.
"It is really important for Turkey to make deals with New Zealand in agriculture sector in agreements with third world countries," he said.
He added that Turkey needed to be transformed into a country that could compete with Europe and New Zealand in agriculture.
"Turkey and New Zealand are two countries which complete each other despite being located far away geographically," the Turkish minister added.
Groser said that both countries wanted to build their future together. "I had interesting meetings with my Turkish counterpart. We have some options that we are going to work on. I am talking about cooperation between Turkey, a successful and strategic country, and New Zealand, a relatively small country," he added.
Also, Groser said his Turkish counterpart briefed him on the transatlantic trade agreement between the U.S and EU that might affect Turkey negatively. He said New Zealand and Turkey would develop joint strategies to deal with the situation.
He also highlighted the fact that both countries shared an important part of history. Australian and New Zealand soldiers waged war against the Ottoman army at the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915, which eventually ended in an Ottoman victory.
