Turkey ploughs ahead in luring foreign investments

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said here on Monday that structural reforms are by far the most cost-effective way to attract investment.

"Turkey decided to make it easier for business and investment, and we succeeded," he said.

Babacan made these remarks at G20 World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) Conference on Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), hosted by Istanbul on Monday.

Turkey has attracted six billion U.S. dollars of FDI in 2014.

The participants of the conference agreed that the foreign investments have been shaping the global economy while contributing to the efforts of the countries to fulfill the reforms.

The attendants of the conference also highlighted the China and India cases as two important examples as their foreign investment enables the transfers of the resources to the innovation, research and development which in return contribute to the development of the middle class.

However, FDI has also some risks like creating extensive dependency. Experts said any small amount of changes in the tariff or in the taxes has potential to create big discrepancy.

WAIPA has been registered in Geneva, as a non-governmental organization with more than members from 130 countries.

During the two days of the conference the participants will discuss the topics of investments in sustainable development, the challenges and the risks of FDI. Enditem