Turkey will ease restrictions on Turkmen entrepreneurs for their investments in Turkey, Development Minister Cevdet Ylmaz said yesterday during The Fifth International Investment Forum of Turkmenistan held in Istanbul. The move will aim to boost two-way investments with Turkmenistan, as Turkey's contractors already make up the largest portion of all worldwide investments in Turkmenistan, at 19 percent.

"The investments that will be made by our Turkmen brothers are as important as Turkish entrepreneurs' investments in Turkmenistan. We consider their investments as our own and we will assure all easiness," Ylmaz said, stressing that Turkey would allow Turkmen investors to benefit from the rights and incentives that local investors benefit from.

$32 bln worth investment

He noted that the total investment value of Turkish firms in Turkmenistan had reached $32 billion with 808 projects, adding that Turkish contractors' investment volume was worth around $245 billion since 1972.

Turkish President Abdullah Gl stressed that a Turkish firm (Polimeks) had won the tender for the International Ashgabat Airport in Turkmenistan, worth $2.2 billion. The trade volume between Turkey and Turkmenistan is also approaching $2 billion, aside from Turkish contractor's investments, he added. "Turkmenistan, which boasts an 11 percent growth rate average over the last five years, has the fourth richest natural gas resources in the world," he said.

Turkmenistan President Gubanguli Berdimuhamedov stated that his country attached importance to taking advantage of foreign investments that contributed to their country's development. "This forum gives an opportunity to investors to finance important projects in our country and to use mutual interest and cooperation possibilities," he said.

Turkmenistan Finance Minister Dovletgeldi Sadykov said the country was set to make investments worth $70 billion as part of its 2012-2016 Development Program, adding that many state-run enterprises' would be privatized.

Source: bne