Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci and Japanese Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for construction services in third countries yesterday in Japan's capital of Tokyo.

"Turkey is a country that has best the opportunities for Japanese firms," Zeybekci said at the Turk-Japan Construction Cooperation seminar in the capital Tokyo.

Zeybekci said Japanese firms will earn more while investing in Turkey compared to other countries by taking into consideration Turkey's population of 81 million.

"Turkey is not limited to its geography," he said, citing the country's location near Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Balkans.

"Turkish companies offer such a wide area as an opportunity to their Japanese partners," he said. Zeybekci believes if Turkey and Japan come together, the two would easily leave China behind in important markets since they have technological and financial opportunities.

Zeybekci was accompanied by members of Parliament and the Turkish Contractors Association, which consists of the top executives of Turkey's largest contracting firms.

According to the Foreign Ministry, 200 Japanese companies operate in Turkey, and five Turkish companies operate in Japan as of 2017.

Japanese foreign direct investment in Turkey was $2.2 billion between 2002 and 2017.