Joint Strategic Planning Group to highlight Russia-Turkey trade, economic cooperation - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax) - Trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Turkey may be spurred on amid Western sanctions against Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary published ahead of the Fifth Meeting of the Turkish-Russian Joint Strategic Planning Group in Istanbul on November 25.
"Against the backdrop of Western sanctions pressuring Russia, Russia-Turkey interaction in the trade and economic field may receive an additional impetus," the ministry said on Monday.
"The Group meeting will highlight topical trade and economic issues. Unfortunately, negative trends featuring a certain decline in bilateral trade turnover in 2014 [3.5% down to $31.6 billion] and the first nine months of this year [23.4% down to $18 billion] have yet to be overcome," the commentary said.
Field-specific Russian and Turkish agencies "are focused on the enlargement of volumes and the expansion of the range of Turkish foods supplied to Russia," the commentary said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed to the significance of cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Turkey.
"Accelerated cultural and humanitarian cooperation between our countries helps form a more favorable atmosphere for the implementation of practical tasks in other areas of bilateral contacts. The Russian Culture and Science Center in Ankara has been successfully operating. The opening of a similar Turkish center in Moscow is coming soon," the ministry said.
"The Russian-Turkish Public Forum which exists within the framework of the High-Level Cooperation Council plays a significant role in the development of cultural and humanitarian relations," the ministry said.
"A substantial role in the deepening of cultural and humanitarian cooperation belongs to tourism," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"Turkey is one of the most popular travel destinations of Russians. Several million Russian tourists annually visit this country. The implementation of the agreement on cross-years of culture and tourism in our countries in 2017-2018 is bound to boost cultural relations and growth in reciprocal tourist arrivals," the ministry said.
