STUTTGART
Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan on Wednesday attended the inauguration ceremony for the Stuttgart office of the Turkish Association of All Industrialists and Businessmen (TUMSIAD).
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Caglayan stressed that there were 70,000 companies established by Turks in Germany.
"These companies provide employment to thousands of people. Their turnover is around 35 billion euros. Such companies make great contributions to the German economy," Caglayan underlined.
Touching on the Turkish economy and its great performance, Caglayan said that their government did not have the luxury to stop or slow down.
"We will complete the year 2012 with a growth rate slightly above 3 percent and slightly down 4 percent. In order for Turkey to reach goals for 2023 (the year when the Republic of Turkey would celebrate 100th anniversary of its foundation) and become one of the top 10 economies of the world with an export figure of 500 billion USD, Turkey needs to grow 6 percent annually," Caglayan stated.
"The whole world now talks about the reality of Turkey and Turkey's successful tale," Caglayan also said.
Caglayan estimates Turks will employ 720,000 people in Germany in 2015
Caglayan has said the number of jobs Turkish entrepreneurs offer in Germany would reach 720,000 in 2015.
"With the current pace, Turks in Germany will own more than 120,000 businesses and they will employ 720,000 people in the country in 2015," Caglayan told reporters before a meeting with Minister-President of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg Winfried Kretschmann and Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economics Nils Schmid in Stuttgart.
Caglayan said his talks in Germany would also seek ways to develop cooperation between Turkish and German businesspeople in third countries.
Caglayan said Germany was the biggest buyer of Turkish exports items, adding that the trade volume between the two countries reached 37 billion USD in 2011.
The Turkish minister said nearly 5,000 German companies ran business in Turkey as the biggest foreign investor in the country, adding that Turks owned businesses in Germany worth of 35 billion euro and they employed 350 thousand people.
Kretschmann, on his part, said his government was willing to cooperation in politics, economy, science and culture, adding that Baden-Wurttemberg State strongly supported Turkey's accession to the European Union.
