ANKARA: Ongoing negotiations between Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states aim to set up one of the largest free trade zones in the world, Turkish officials said. Citing some officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, Anadolu Ajansi said when a free zone deal was signed by Turkey and the GCC members. The two sides will have one of the main free trade zones in the world. The volume of trade between Turkey and GCC states reached $31.5 billion by 2023, it revealed.

Turkey and the GCC aim for a deal suitable for global economic conditions to provide new opportunities for the private sector, it said. Ankara seeks to boost its exports to Gulf countries, mainly agriculture and technology, through a free trade zone deal whose first round of negotiations began two days ago, it stated. Many Turkish companies have become global trademarks in varied sectors, including telecommunications, contracting, and health tourism, that play active roles in the Gulf countries.

It elaborated that the Turkish contracting sector has accomplished so far 856 projects worth $77.5 billion in GCC states. It went to say that the GCC states further aim to invest in Turkey’s food, logistics, transportation, pharmaceutical, hospital management, infrastructure, and technology sectors. The two sides will continue negotiations via the Internet, and they will meet in Riyadh in the last quarter of this year for the second round of the talks. — KUNA