MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2021) The United Kingdom is looking into options for lessening its dependence on China as a trade supplier, with Turkey viewed as potentially becoming just the right direction to take, UK Ambassador to Ankara Dominick Chilcott told the Anadolu news agency, predicting a "very bright future" for the two countries trade- and investment-wise.
"The UK wants to find other suppliers. It happens in our locality, there is a relatively low-cost supplier with a wide manufacturing base, which manufactures to European standards. And that's called Turkey," Chilcott said.
According to the diplomat, this could involve agriculture, digital economy, public procurement and investments in each other's markets.
Speaking about Turkey's trade ties with the European Union, Chilcott noted that Ankara needed to keep in mind the bloc's Green Deal carbon adjustment tariffs for countries with which they trade.
"If you look at the public statements by members of the Turkish government, they're very clear. [EU] Membership is still the long-term objective," the ambassador said, stressing that while the UK left the Customs Union as a result of Brexit, Turkey wished to be in it.
Turkey and the United Kingdom signed their free trade agreement in late December. It came into force on January 1, covering all kinds of industrial and agricultural products.
Notably, negotiations on Turkey's full accession to the European Union began in 2005. However, the relations between Brussels and Ankara deteriorated throughout 2020 due to long-standing disagreements over statements concerning Islamic extremism and human rights, as well as a major feud around Turkey's gas drilling in Greek- and Cypriot-claimed territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean.
