Turkish president attends Turkish-Latvian Business Forum

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that Turkey could make business with Latvia which had a quite well economic performance. There are 34 private and 22 state universities in Latvia which has 2 million population, added Gul who addressed Turkish-Latvian Business Forum together with Latvian President Andris Berzins on Tuesday. In 2015, we will celebrate the 90th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Latvia, said Gul, adding that Turkey was pleased with Latvia's support to its EU membership process. Gul said that the current 300 million USD of trade between Turkey and Latvia was not enough, and he called on Latvian businessmen to invest in Turkey. Noting that Turkish Airlines had been holding direct flights from Istanbul to Riga since 2006, Gul said that THY was also flying to 44 African cities. Meanwhile, Latvian President Berzins said that Turkey targeted to be one of the top ten economies of the world within the next ten years, and Latvia targeted to reach EU's average life standards within ten years, adding that the two countries could reach those targets by developing their cooperation. Noting that strong companies of Latvia had close relations with Turkish companies, Berzins said that trade between the two countries could be increased by a project called "ZUR" which aims to connect Baltic Sea with Black Sea. Earlier in the day, Gul held a meeting with Speaker of the Latvian Parliament Solvita Aboltina. Latvian president hosts dinner in honor of Turkish counterpart Gul and his spouse Hayrunnisa Gul attended a formal dinner hosted by Latvian President Andris Berzins and spouse Dace Seisuma in their honor on Tuesday. Gul said during the dinner that Latvia had always supported EU membership bid of Turkey which was a priority in strategic aspect. Latvian president said that they supported Turkey's integration with the EU in a determined manner, expressing belief that enlargement of EU was the best way to deal with difficulties which were caused by global financial crisis.