Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

“There is a great export and import market in Canada, and the trade volume with Turkey is a drop in the ocean. There is a tremendous potential here. They have direct links to all countries with free trade agreements like NAFTA in North America and the EU as well as other parts of the world, but we are nowhere to be found in this market.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu went on:

“The time has come to develop trade between Turkey and Canada. We discussed what we can do to rethink, develop and push our relations with Canada. It was a very fruitful visit. This is actually a good start. We agreed that the signing of a free trade agreement between the two countries is our most important demand. We received positive approaches. There is great potential in Turkey and Canada. We must mutually explore our potential. We believe that we will get positive results if we do so.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu underlined that the Canadian visit was a first in terms of business world, “This visit was a first. Our partners showed great interest. They invited us to come again with a larger committee. We invited them to our country. I believe we will make significant improvements in the near future.”

TOBB President pointed out that the US with a population of 400 million is right next to Canada, and Canada is one of the easiest entry points if your target is the US market. When you enter Canada, you have a chance to reach a population of about 1 billion. There are great opportunities here. We conduct very little to no trade in this region. Canada imports 400bn$. You have a chance to sell everything as long as you utilize this market. In this context, Canada is one of the countries that the Ministry of Economy has prioritized. We are committed to doing what we need to improve our involvement.”

- Hisarcıklıoğlu’s teleconference with Ereğli from Canada

Hisarcıklıoğlu held teleconference with Ereğli Chamber of Commerce and Industry's during iftar. The TOBB delegation headed by M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu left the country after his talks in Canada.