At the beginning of the 20th Century, the Turkish people bravely fought a War of Independence to preserve their sovereignty and independence under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and founded the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. This year, the Turkish Republic is celebrating the 84th anniversary of her establishment.
Turkey attaches great importance to her relations with the Republic of Korea which has a foreign policy based on similar principles. On 11 August 1949, Turkey recognized Republic of Korea.
Turkey's participation in the Korean War in 1950-1953 placed the relations on a very strong foundation. In 1957, the diplomatic relations between the two countries were established. There are no outstanding political issues between the two countries. They have also close cooperative relations in international organizations and share similar views on major international issues.
The mutual high level visits recently exchanged between the two countries have also contributed to the development of our relations in many fields. The visit of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey to Korea in February 2004, H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, then Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, to Turkey in April 2004, and, H.E. Mr. Roh Moo-hyun, President of the Republic of Korea, to Turkey in April 2005 demonstrated that the political ties between the two countries have reached high levels. Very recently, we have had the pleasure of hosting H.E. Mr. Kim Jang-soo, Minister of National Defense in March 2007 and H.E.
Mr. Kim Jung-bok, Minister of Patriots and Veteran Affairs in October 2007 in Turkey.
Economic relations between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Korea are an essential aspect of our close cooperation. Bilateral trade is one of the most dynamic elements of economic ties between the two countries.
In 2006, Turkey's imports from and exports to the Republic of Korea were 3.4 billion and 155 million US Dollars respectively.
In view of a disparity between Turkey's imports from and exports to the Republic of Korea, Turkey looks forward to establishing more balanced trade with the Republic of Korea and an acceleration of Korean investments in Turkey, which will pave the way for a mutually beneficial economic cooperation. Investments of leading Korean companies such as Hyundai, LG and KT&G in Turkey provide good examples for Korean businessmen.
Turkey, with a dynamic population of over 70 million is a very important market for foreign investors. Her geographical position provides access to additional vast markets such as the Balkans, Black Sea Region, the Middle East, Caucasia and the Central Asia. Turkey's highqualified manpower, well-established infrastructure, technologically developed telecommunication networks and efficient banking system are advantages for good investment opportunities for Korean companies. The recent measures concerning the foreign direct investment (FDI) also have created a favorable business climate for investors. With the new FDI legislation, notification system instead of screening and approval system came into effect to encourage foreign companies to invest in Turkey. According to OECD, Turkey received an FDI inflow of 20.2 billion US Dollars in 2006.
The 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Korea is considered as an important opportunity to further strengthen and develop the traditionally strong ties already existing between our peoples.
I would like to conclude by expressing my best wishes for the prosperity of the friendly people of the Republic of Korea.
