Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Massimov lauded Turkey's "production potential" at a meeting with the Central Asian nation's leading businessmen on Friday, Today's Zaman reported.
"Turkey is a country with great production potential," said as part of his observations in Turkey last week. "With its noteworthy economic growth, Turkey is a country of interest for all," he also said during the meeting.
The Kazakh prime minister attended the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit on Dec. 22-24 in İstanbul. The summit hosted 10 member and guest countries, including the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Some of the leaders participating in the summit were Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. Turkey took over the ECO rotating presidency from Iran during the summit.
Also as part of his meeting with the businessmen, Massimov said Kazakhstan could achieve success similar to Turkey. He finally noted that he had ordered the relevant national authorities to open a branch of the National Economic Chamber of Kazakhstan (ATAMEKEN Union) in Turkey. In response to a question after the meeting, the union's president, Azat Peruashev, told reporters that efforts to open the Turkey branch had already been initiated.