Victoria wants direct flights to Melbourne

Australia's Victoria State Minister for Tourism and Major Events Louise Asher demanded Turkish Airlines (THY) to begin direct flights between Istanbul and Melbourne and said, "We can see that Turkey is growing rapidly and we would like to reserve our place on Turkish planes in advance." Responding to the questions of Anadolu Agency, Asher stated that they came to Istanbul with 60 Australian companies and were impressed by Turkey's dynamic economy. Asher stated that there were around 300,000 Turkish people residing in Melbourne and it would be wiser to have the direct flight to Melbourne rather than Sydney. "We can see that Turkey is growing rapidly and we would like to take our place in Turkish planes in advance. We would like Australia and Turkey to be in closer cooperation. Turkey is positioned to be an ideal center for commerce. That is exactly why we are in Istanbul for. We are going to request THY to begin direct flights to Melbourne. If direct flights begin, I believe our bilateral trade will multiply," the minister said. Asher touched on the opportunities in the field of education and stated that they wanted to see more Turkish students studying in Australia. Stating that the Victorian state alone conducted 45 billion dollars of exports and 90 billion dollars worth of imports, Asher said, "We would like more Turkish people to invest in Australia. Considering that we have an "AAA" rating, we are a very safe country to invest in. Turkey's trade volume with Australia has increased sharply over the last decade. Turkey's exports to Australia increased from 99.6 million dollars in 2002 to 421 million dollars in 2012 and Turkey's imports increased from 285.6 million dollars in 2002 to 804.4 million dollars in 2012."