Speaking to reporters in İstanbul ahead of a meeting with businessmen from Syria, Çağlayan said: “We need to establish strong cooperation between the Turkish and Syrian banking industries. This is critical for facilitating bilateral trade and opening the way for healthier money transfer between businesses in the two countries.”
Syrian-Turkish Business Council President Abdul Kader Sabra said last week that Ziraat Bankası is expected to establish a bank in Syria with Syrian partners. Noting that Ziraat expressed a clear interest when the partnership was proposed, Sabra said the new bank could be established “within six months.” He was speaking at a meeting organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) in İstanbul.
Recalling Sabra’s remarks, Çağlayan said the government has been considering steps to this end for the past month and believes it to be an important goal. “We have improved economic relations with Syria in the past few years and wish to take further initiatives to this end,” he stated.
The minister later met with 30 leading businessmen from the neighboring country to discuss possible new investments.
