Turkey: a land of opportunity for Yorkshire exporters, We are International event to hear
20 March 2015
UK exports to Turkey totalled $6.3bn in 2013, according to the country's British Chamber of Commerce which is among speakers at a major We are International Export Network event in Leeds this month (March 26).
Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey, Chris Gaunt, will give insights on how to trade with the Turkish market, Europe’s seventh largest economy, advising on how to access fast-growing markets at Deloitte, Leeds.
More than 80 novice exporters are expected to attend the afternoon event where other speakers will include director of The British Polish Chamber of Commerce - Trade, Patrick Ney, and chief executive of the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Richard Reese,
The We are International initiative – delivered by Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership with support from international trade specialists Chamber International, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Yorkshire, Enterprise Europe Network and MY Export Hub – aims to add £1.6bn to the City Region economy and create thousands of jobs by 2018.
Chris Gaunt, who started his international career 23 years ago in Croatia as a Coopers and Lybrand consultant and also worked for Coca-Cola before joining The British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey in 2013, says the country is among the world’s biggest markets with a population of 76m – half of who are aged under 30 - and a labour force of 28m.
He says: “Istanbul and Ankara are among the biggest cities in the world in terms of GDP. At $188bn, Istanbul’s GDP exceeds that of many EU countries such as Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Luxembourg.
“Starting a business in Turkey takes an average of six days compared to the world average of 30.6 days. Foreign direct investment to Turkey totalled $12.7bn in 2013 with 60 per cent coming from the EU and the UK being the most important single source.”
A wide range of opportunities exist for UK companies in Turkey including energy and renewables, nuclear energy projects, oil & gas, ICT, consumer goods and retail, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, automotive, food and drink, and financial and professional services.
The latest Export Network event, being arranged by Chamber International as part of We are International, is the seventh since the initiative, has engaged with hundreds of businesses, and was launched in March 2013.
Please click here to reserve your place.
For more information about the We are International campaign, visit www.exportnetwork.co.uk
For further information on our upcoming networking events please click here
Follow Chamber International on Twitter @ChamberInt and on Facebook here
