Di Stefano meets the delegation of the Turkish business association TUSIAD

Under-Secretary Manlio Di Stefano met the delegation of TUSIAD, the main Turkish business association (it represents 80% of the country’s industrial production), led by President Simone Kaslowski. Turkey is Italy’s first export destination market in the Middle East and North Africa area and the twelfth globally with a trade exchange of 17.8 billion euros in 2018. For Turkey, Italy is the 5th supplier and its 3rd customer globally. In Turkey there are over 400 Italian-owned companies, particularly in the banking, energy and infrastructure sectors. The Under-Secretary believes in the further growth of bilateral economic exchanges; for this, he added, it is necessary to deepen the relationship with the EU. In particular, he indicated the need for Turkey to respect the agreement on the customs union, allowing non-discriminatory functioning for all Member States. For his part, President Kawlowski recalled the importance that the Turkish business community attaches to ties with the EU and TUSIAD’s willingness to bring the country closer to the European Union