Turkish President Erdogan calls for free trade talks with India

Says trade may grow by using local currencies rather than US Dollars

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a quick start to negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with India.

Addressing a bilateral business summit alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Erdogan said both trade and investment are way below potential and needs to jump start.

One way to do this, he said is by ditching the US Dollar in favor of local currencies from both countries for trade purposes.

While the proposal for an FTA had been pitched by Turkey before 2012, dates are yet to be fixed for starting negotiations, a senior government official said under conditions of anonymity. India is currently involved in similar negotiations with Australia, Canada, Georgia, the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, among others which are at different stages.

However, bilateral trade had shrunk in the 2015-16 financial year by almost 28 per cent to $4.91 billion. Of this, the majority was exports to the country at $4.14 billion and imports at $776 million.

Turkey has had difficulty in stabilizing its exports to India which had contracted by a significant 47 per cent in 2015-16 as compared to Indian exports falling by 22 per cent. Both governments have targeted a $ 23 billion worth of trade by 2023.

On this note, Erdogan acknowledged that trade was heavily in favor of India, adding that it was 'unsustainable'.

The business meet organized by industry body Ficci also saw PM Modi extending an invite to Turkish infrastructure companies for investing in the infra space and especially the Smart Cities programme.

He also advised the Turkish government that it might approach the regional film industries as part of its efforts to woo more Indian tourists.

Indians constituted only 79,000 of 2.5 million people visiting Turkey last year.

"To make it better, you will have my personal care and support," he said while signing off.