( Cihan ) - Turkey has completed preliminary preferential trade deals with 18 Islamic countries which will double trade with these states in the short term, said State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen.
Tuzmen said Saturday that studies to establish a system of preferential trade have finally been completed. The technical study meetings took place in Ankara and lasted three days.
Participants discussed the removal of non-tariff barriers to the development of trade between the member states of Organization of the Islamic Countries (OIC).
Tuzmen said that the negotiating parties reached a consensus on the technical details last week, representing "a huge step on the way to the formation of a free trade area among the Muslim nations." He added that the legal agreement will be signed in September in a meeting to be held in Turkey.
"Following the signing of the document, the Regulations on the Rules of Country of Origin, in September by the OIC members, the Islamic countries will start applying lower tariffs on each other in their mutual trade," Tuzmen said. Thus, by boosting trade, the development of these countries will be much more rapid, he claimed, also noting that the co-production of certain products will be possible via "product sharing."