Turkish VP, UK's deputy PM discuss bilateral ties

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz has met with Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and discussed a number of issues, including bilateral ties and regional developments.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Dowden, Yilmaz said that he had "positive" talks with the deputy premier and that the meeting evaluated bilateral trade and financial ties, on Tuesday.

Referring to the free trade agreement between the two countries after Brexit, he said that they wish to deepen and enhance this agreement further.

"Negotiations continue in this regard in a positive way," the Turkish vice president said, adding they also discussed political and regional matters during the talk.


Mentioning the importance of maintaining the dialogue and high-level ties in every field, he praised the "very good" trend between the two countries in this regard.

"Our meetings and contacts at all levels continue and these talks support initiatives that will benefit both countries," noted Yilmaz.

$19 billion in bilateral trade last year between the two countries

He went on to say that Türkiye and the UK are in contact on various projects in different fields, from the defence industry to energy and aviation.

He said that he would meet with investors later on Tuesday, adding that foreign direct investment (FDI) is “very valuable.”

"At this point, we have important ties with the UK. There is already an investment of more than $13 billion in Türkiye. Turkish companies also have investments in the UK, we want to bring them to a higher level," he added.

Recalling that the two countries passed $19 billion in bilateral trade last year, Yilmaz said he hopes the number would exceed $20 billion this year.


Touching on tourism, another valuable area for the two countries, he reminded that over 3 million tourists from Britain visited Türkiye last year, saying it marks a significant increase and they expect more this year.

"We think that we will reach a further level in all these areas with high-level meetings and more dialogue between both the public and private sectors. In this sense, we had very fruitful and positive talks," the Turkish vice president said.

Investor talks with EBRD in London

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, has held talks with Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in London.

Yilmaz, who arrived in London on Monday for investor talks and official contacts, met Renaud-Basso and delegations at the Turkish Embassy in London, on Tuesday.

The two discussed the EBRD investments in Türkiye and potential for further cooperation.

"Green financing, high value-added exports and technology-oriented sector investments, and the EBRD supports for women and youth were among top items of our meeting," the Turkish vice president wrote on X.

Recalling that to date the EBRD has provided more than €19 billion euros ($20.6 billion) in financial support to private and public institutions in Türkiye, Yilmaz thanked the European Bank delegation "for their close solidarity after the Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes in Türkiye," and hoped that cooperation will continue to enhance.

Contacts with Turkish businesses in London

Turkish Vice President also met with representatives of Turkish businesses late Monday, as well as representatives of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot communities, as part of his contacts in the British capital.

In the meeting, Yilmaz mentioned Türkiye's medium-term program target, saying Türkiye saw 4.7% growth in the first nine months of last year.

"We have a 4.4% (growth) target in our medium-term program. We will achieve this target even if the last quarter saw 3.7% growth," he added.

Commenting on price stability and the fight against inflation in Türkiye, he said bringing down inflation is the main priority in the medium-term program.

Pointing out that the current deficit fell from $60 billion to $45 billion at the end of 2023, he stated that exports and tourism revenues had a "significant impact" on this positive trend.

Despite a number of negativities, exports reached $256 billion last year, which is slightly above the medium-term program, he said, calling this "pleasing."

"So there is some contraction in our foreign trade deficit. Exports rose 3.6% in January. There is a decrease of around 23% in imports, so the improvement in our trade balance continues in the first months," added Yilmaz.

Türkiye's falling risk premium

Saying that banking sector in Türkiye is well above international standards and legal requirements, Yilmaz pointed to a significant drop in Türkiye's risk premium.

Elaborating that the risk premium fell from around 700 last year to around 300, the vice president underlined that this is very important for the public and companies to access international financing under more suitable conditions.

Yilmaz pointed to the goal of achieving investment and export-oriented growth instead of consumption-oriented growth, and underlined that such growth would be of higher quality and healthier.

He also stressed that support for export and investment will continue to rise.

Defence and security matters

Turkish National Defence Minister Yasar Guler also met with his British counterpart Grant Shapps, exchanging views on security and defence topics, said the Turkish National Defence Ministry in a statement on Tuesday.

Guler was welcomed with a military ceremony at the Defence Ministry, and both later presided over inter-delegation talks.

“During the meeting, exchanges of views took place on defence and security matters,” said the statement.

Later, Guler met with the Admiral David Radakin, Britain’s chief of Defence Staff, who presided over the inter-delegation talks.

Afterwards, Guler visited the Turkish Embassy in London for a briefing on ongoing activities.