Romania eyes more trade, investment from Turkey

Romanian President Traian Basecu on Wednesday started his visit to Turkey, the Eastern European country's first non-European Union trade partner, analysts say officials in both countries aim to bolster economic ties. During the ongoing visit, the Romanian president invited Turkish companies to make investments in his country in such areas as infrastructure, food, and energy. He also attended a business and investment forum on Thursday organized in the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges in Ankara. Romania and Turkey can cooperate in markets of other countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Armenia as potential markets for joint business ventures, Basescu said. For his part, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said they agreed to reach a target trade volume of 10 billion U.S. dollars, raising the 6.32 billion U.S. dollar trade volume of 2013. "There is a strong relationship between peoples of both countries," Gul said at a joint press briefing with Basescu on Wednesday, adding that Turkish businesses have invested some 5 billion U.S. dollars worth of investment in Romania. "The main theme of Basescu's visit centered on boosting business, trade and investment ties between the two countries that have common stakes in maintaining stability and prosperity in their common neighborhoods," Mesut Cevikalp, a foreign policy expert, told Xinhua. "Romania, one of the poorest countries in the 28-member EU bloc, needs investment and trade, and Turkey, a regional economic powerhouse, is a good client for Romania," he added. Romania wants to attract more Turkish tourists as only 38,000 Turkish tourists visited Romania last year. Considering that some 11 million Turks travel abroad, Romania wants a bigger slice of Turkish tourist market in the coming years, according to local observers. STRATEGIC PARTNERS Romania is also a strong supporter of Turkish EU bid and President Basescu reiterated that message during his trip to Turkey. Turkey and Romania are also members of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), two regional organizations that focus on economic development and strengthening cooperation. "Cooperation in defense and security matters have also developed considerably in the last decade between the two countries," Idris Gursoy, an Ankara-based analyst, told Xinhua. "Not only in joint defense partnership in NATO alliance but also growing desire to cooperate further in (fighting) cross- border terror and crime matters," he added. Turkey and Romania signed the Strategic Partnership agreement in December 2011 and inked the action plan for the agreement on March 2013. The roadmap covers various fields of cooperation, ranging from foreign affairs, and political dialogue to economic, industrial, military, environmental and cultural sectors. It also covers European, regional and international affairs.