KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed is confident that the forthcoming Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Malaysia and Turkey is the catalyst to boost bilateral trade to US$5 billion (RM16.4 billion) within five years.

He said the FTA would provide a platform for both countries to really scale up potential business opportunities.

“Turkey and Malaysia are diversified economies. We are strong in electrical and electronics products, while Turkey is strong in agriculture products, textiles, chemicals and metals.

“As such, the potential is there. My view is that these opportunities are under-exploited or in some cases, unexploited,” Mustapa (picture) told reporters on the sidelines of the Malaysia-Turkey Business Forum here today.

From January to November last year, the total trade between Malaysia and Turkey stood at US$996.3 million.

Malaysia exported US$814.8 million worth of products to Turkey, while imports from the latter amounted to US$181.5 million.

Mustapa said the reduction of tariffs under the FTA would spur more trade between Malaysia and Turkey and also help bring about a balance in it.

He said as the price of Turkey’s products are reduced, Malaysia could import more from the country, and as the economy expands, the volume will also grow.

Earlier, at the forum, Mustapa said both countries had agreed to reach an agreement on the FTA this year with April as the possibility.

“Both countries will have negotiations next week in Ankara. It will be the last round of negotiations and an agreement is expected to be concluded in April,” he added.

To date, there have been eight rounds of negotiations between both countries on the FTA.

Echoing the same sentiment, Turkey’s Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci expressed confidence that the FTA would be concluded in April. — Bernama