Hurriyet English with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 04, 2008 14:11
Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Japan on Wednesday with a major trade delegation on the first visit by a Turkish head of state to boost economic, political and cultural ties with Asia's largest economy.
Gul is on a five-day visit to Japan that includes lunch with Emperor Akihito on Thursday and talks on Friday with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
The Turkish president, accompanied by several ministers, will also attend economic forums in Tokyo and the western metropolis of Osaka.
Gul said it was the first time that a Turkish president was visiting Japan, and his visit would open a new page to realize the economic, tourism and investment potential between the two countries, the Anatolian Agency reported.
Gul said told reporters he would tell about investment opportunities in Turkey during his talks with Japanese executives, and added Turkey was ranked 60th among the foreign investments of Japan.
"We think that there are major Japanese investments in Turkey when we see Toyota and Honda, but it's not so," he added.
Gul defined his visit as an important opportunity to make use of the actual economic potential between Turkey and Japan.
He said 170,000 Japanese tourists were visiting Turkey each year, and expressed his belief that this number would increase in the coming years.
Gul also said the “Japanese Year” to be marked in Turkey in 2010 would also boost cultural relations.
The year 2003 was celebrated as "Turkish Year" in Japan and Turkey declared 2010 as "Japanese Year".
"Investment and trade will be a big issue, given that a delegation of nearly 150 business leaders is accompanying the president," Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Tomohiko Taniguchi was quoted on Wednesday as saying by the AFP.
Fukuda and Gul will also discuss political developments including in the Middle East and Central Asia, officials said.
Japan, which has been officially pacifist since its defeat in World War II, is studying whether to send its first ground forces on a reconstruction mission to Afghanistan, where Turkish troops are engaged in peacekeeping operations.
Trade volume between the two countries stood at $3.9 billion in 2007, according to Turkey's official statistics. Of that amount, $3.7 billion were Japanese exports to Turkey.
Japan also funds several infrastructure projects in Turkey, among them the Bosporus Rail Tube Crossing Project, a 3.3-kilometer (8.2-mile) metro tunnel, part of which will be underwater.
Photo: AFP
