Before EU: Economy Minister
Turkey hopes to finalize free trade talks with Japan before the European Union does, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi has said, just days after returning from a commerce ties-enhancing East Asia visit with the prime minister.
“The EU has launched talks with Japan on a free trade agreement (FTA), which we expect to last at least four years in the slow-paced structure of the 28-member union. We will start official talks with Japan as of June 1 and hopefully finalize the talks before the EU does and sign the Japan-Turkey FTA,” the minister said Jan. 14 in his address to Turkish ambassadors who convened in Ankara for an annual conference.