Kursad Tuzmen, the State minister responsible for foreign trade, expects exports to reach $45bn and imports to stand at $64bn-$65bn by the end of this year, surpassing programme targets.
Tuzmen said that exports would surpass the target of $39bn at the end of 2003, expecting it to stand at $45bn.
Tuzmen noted that the government is aiming to improve bilateral trade with the country's neighbours, African, and Central Asian countries, adding that they had recently signed a trade deal with Iran and had decided to set up a joint investment company with Pakistan.
Energy Minister Hilmi Guler also gave good news to industrialists, announcing that the government would start providing cheap energy for industrial plants.
Guler said that they hadn't increased the electricity prices for the past 11 months, but that they were now planning to make considerable cuts in prices.
