State Minister and deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Cemil Cicek, will arrive in Malta today for talks with Foreign Minister Tonio Borg.

It is understood that the two ministers will speak about the opening of bilateral missions in Malta and Turkey, ways to stimulate trade and investment as well as security cooperation. Last October, the Embassy of Turkey opened in Malta. Together with the setting up of the Maltese Consulate in Istanbul, a solid platform is now in place so that cooperation and efforts to promote trade and investment between both countries will continue to progress.

Turkey’s removal of tariff charges on Maltese products as part of the EU’s entry negotiation process is helping to promote trade and investment between the two countries.

Trade between the two countries is growing healthily and, in some ways, broadly based. The major imported products into Malta are mineral fuels, iron and steel, plastics, copper, vehicle parts, electrical machinery, machinery and mechanical appliances and furniture. There are also imports of a wide range of products in very small values.

Exports to Turkey are largely limited to four items: fish, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, and machinery and mechanical appliances.