Greece and Türkiye need to enhance their economic cooperation and boost bilateral trade, Adnan Polat, Chairman of the Türkiye-Greece Business Council, underlined in an interview with the Athens- Macedonian News Agency and Lila Chotzoglou.
“ Current bilateral trade is at around 5.7 billion dollars. There is willingness to increase it. The state has put the regulations in place and the businessmen are ready to contribute to it,” Polat said and added:
“ Bilateral trade of Greece and Türkiye with other countries stands approximately at 500 billion dollars. And between Greece and Türkiye it is only 5.7 billion. It is minimum. We have to increase it and we can do it.”
Among the sectors where cooperation can be enhanced is tourism, renewable energy sources, agricultural industry, real estate, culture, sports and transportation, he noted. “ For instance,” he said, “ years ago a fast railway connection between Istanbul and Thessaloniki started and then it stopped. We have to force the states to re-open it.”
The Chairman of the Türkiye-Greece Business Council stressed the importance of food and agricultural industry, explaining that both countries are situated in a nice geographically place and cited the example of Holland. “ Holland is a small country, and it is using all its land which is under sea level to produce. We can definitely do it and we can do it much better.”
He also referred to investments in real estate and the need to renovate buildings, following the earthquake in south of Türkiye last year which cost many lives.
As for renewable energy sources, he stressed the importance of hydro, wind and solar power. “ Solar energy in our countries is more productive than in northern countries. If you spend 1 billion dollars in Greece and Türkiye, you will get 1.6 billion KW, while in Germany 1.0 billion KW with the same investment size. We should cut the petroleum use from our land and protect it.”
Polat reiterated the critical geostrategic role of both countries. “ The Aegean Sea is one of the most important wind corridors in the world. We can do a lot with green energy there. On the Turkish side of the Aegean, 70% of wind energy is being generated. In Greece, starting from Thessaloniki all the way down to the south, including the islands, you can use wind energy, which means that you don’t have to import petroleum products and you don’t have to spend money on petroleum products. Therefore, you keep the money to spend it on the welfare of the Greek people," Polat underlined stressing the importance of renewable energy sources.
The Aegean Sea, he said, is also very important for tourism which is one of the main income sectors for both countries. “ I have visited more than 100 countries and all continents, and I have never seen any other place like the Aegean. For the last 40 years I have visited almost every island of the Aegean. The coastline of Greece and Türkiye is beautiful, and we could develop a joint project in the Aegean to protect the sea and at the same time boost tourism income for both nations.”
He explained that polluted water carried from the Danube River through Germany, Serbia, Romania and the Black Sea, is brought down to the Bosporus and ends up in the Aegean Sea. “ Therefore, we have to protect our Sea, as the Sea is very important for both nations.”
The Turkish businessman and chairman of Polat Holding stressed the need for both countries to develop together. “ Greeks and Turks have to lead their countries far higher from where they are standing. They deserve better. People of both nations are almost similar in their aspects,” he explained.
Asked whether it is easy to invest in Greece and Türkiye, he replied: “ Of course it is. It is a matter of intention. We are planning to invest in Greece, and I have Greek friends planning to invest in Türkiye.”
He also referred to an agreement with a non-profit organization aiming to strengthen trade between Hungary, Greece and Türkiye. “ When I started 7 years ago, the trade volume between Türkiye and Hungary was around 300 million and now it is over one billion. We have experienced a three-fold increase, and the most important factor in this increase was the fact that the two business worlds got in touch with each other and got to know each other better. I believe that the Turkish and Greek communities, who already know each other very well, will increase their contacts and closeness in trade and reach the trade volume of 10 billion dollars mentioned by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Furthermore, I view the 10-billion-dollar mark as a short-term milestone, one which we are poised to surpass,” he noted.
The Turkish businessman, who spoke on the sidelines of the Turkish-Greek Media and Academy Forum Panels on “ Exploring Common Interests and Opportunities for Cooperation,” recently held in Istanbul, underlined that media has the power to make the younger generations understand that the Greeks and the Turks have zero problems with each other and need to approach the relations positively.