UK and Turkey: doing good business

Next week promises to be a big week for UK-Turkish trade and investment.

Lord Livingston, the British Minister of State for Trade and Investment, will visit Turkey from 22-25 February.  The Minister will open a GREAT Technology event; hold formal high-level talks with Trade Minister Zeybekci; meet British investors in Turkey, and Turkish investors in the UK; and meet top representatives of sectors of Turkish business with which the UK is particularly engaged, such as healthcare, renewables and technology.  He will be accompanied by four delegations of British businesses.

I don’t want to prejudge the outcome of what is planned to be a packed programme of meetings and negotiation.  But Lord Livingston’s visit comes at a time when the UK is intensely engaged in doing business with Turkey.  The UK is the second largest investor in Turkey in the period 2009-2014.  One company, Vodafone, is the second largest inward investor in Turkey overall.  Major British companies are already investing in Turkey in everything from energy to R&D to financial services; and more is planned.

All this is underpinned by a GREAT campaign which last year delivered the first ever GREAT Festival of Creativity, in Istanbul.  We are working hard with the British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey to provide quality business-to-business support.  We’re working with British and Turkish companies to explore joint business opportunities in South Caucasus and Central Asia, including countries like Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.  And, as I wrote recently, we’re looking for opportunities to contribute on infrastructure projects such as Istanbul’s Third Airport and major healthcare investments.

We’re over here; and we’re keen to do business.

The flow isn’t all one way.  Turkish investment in the UK is coming on stream.  2014 was a record year for Turkish investment in the UK, with well over £2 billion worth of investment including the acquisition of the famous British company United Biscuits by Turkey’s Yildiz Holding.  Other recent or imminent Turkish investments are in sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, R&D and technology.

Turkey, as “Europe’s Emerging Market”, has huge potential for further growth.  Trade and investment in partnership with other nations, including the UK, is a key part of making that happen.  We hope that Lord Livingston’s visit will help drive that trade and investment and create new opportunities for both Turkey and the UK to develop and prosper.

If you want to find out more about services to support British business world-wide, check out the guide at our “Trade & Investment Services for Exporters” page.  And if you’re interested in doing business in Turkey or in investing in the UK, write to us uktiturkey@fco.gov.uk.

We’ll be delighted to help you.