Turkey expects to initiate free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Malaysia by April this year, following very positive exploratory talks between the two countries recently.
After a meeting held by the Turkish Prime Ministry's Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade with the relevant Malaysian authorities, the director general of European Union Affairs at the Turkish Prime Ministry's Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade, Husnu Dilemre, said, "At the meeting we explained Turkey's relationship with the European Union and were informed about Malaysia's free trade agreements. In order to initiate free trade agreement negotiations, we have to wait for a number of Malaysian procedures to be completed. We expect to start the negotiations by April this year."
Commenting on the importance of an FTA between Turkey and Malaysia, Mr. Dilemre said, "With this FTA, Turkey will be Malaysia's gateway to the European Union; and Malaysia will be Turkey's gateway to Asia."
Steel is one of the main products Turkey exports to Malaysia. In 2009 Turkey exported 72,775 metric tons of steel products to the country, compared to 3,053 metric tons exported in 2008, according to the data provided by the Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (IMMIB). Meanwhile in the first eleven months of 2009, Malaysia exported 6,400 metric tons of iron and steel products to Turkey.