OREANDA-NEWS.  October 18, 2012. Over 200 Moldovan economic agents and about 30 Turkish business people participated in the Moldovan-Turkish trade and investment forum in Chisinau.

The forum was organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSCON), the Turkish Businessmen's Association (MTIAD), the Moldovan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Moldovan Investment and Export Promotion Organisation (MIEPO) and the UNDP Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme.

Attending the event, Prime Minister Vlad Filat said Turkey is a strategic economic partner for Moldova and a model country as regards the national economic development. "Our interest in terms of the relations with Turkey is huge, given its stance at the international level. Turkey has the quick growth of the Gross Domestic Product at the European level, and it is the 16th economy at the international level. It is a very clear proof that we have to set relations and learn from our Turkish partners how to develop the economy", Filat said.

The president of the Turkish Business Association, Abdurrahman Sezis, praised the trade relations between the two countries and voiced conviction that the current forum will contribute to identifying attractive cooperation sectors. At the same time, he noted that Turkey ranks 9th among Moldova's economic partners regarding the number of investments (about 22 million dollars) and 6th in terms of exports to Moldova (367 million dollars). "These figures prove that Turkey has an important role in the trade sector in Moldova, and show that we are good economic partners. These indicators represent the result of the fact that the Turkish business people take efforts to develop the relations with the Moldovan partners", Sezis also said.

Deputy Economics Minister Sergiu Ciobanu expressed conviction that the good cooperation relations between Moldova and Turkey will be further strengthened via common efforts and concrete projects. He remarked that the event is a good moment for initiating and setting new cooperation ties. Ciobanu urged the Turkish business people to invest in the Free Economic Areas, the industrial parks, as well as in other sectors in Moldova.

The chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gheorghe Cucu, addressed to the participants in the forum saying that the CCI is willing to offer assistance to the enterpreneurs from Turkey and Moldova in setting and diversifying the business relations in different sectors. "The Moldovan business community's presence at the forum denotes the Moldovan business people's interest in setting and strengthening the partnership relations with the Turkish companies, as well as in initiating joint projects in different sectors", Cucu also said.

According to data put out by the National Statistics Bureau, in January-July 2012, Moldova's foreign trade with Turkey amounted to about 248.5 million dollars, increasing by 1.5 per cent against the same period of the last year. The export of goods was estimated at 30.1 million dollars during the first seven months of 2012, decreasing by 8.74 per cent, while the import accounted for 218.7 million dollars, up by 10.2 per cent against January-July 2011.