Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci will hold talks with the leading companies of the Turkish contracting industry in Japan. The talks will focus on issues such as joint projects by Turkish and Japanese contracting companies in third countries, project-based incentive system and removal of trade barriers between the two countries.

Accompanied by members of Parliament and Turkish Contractors Association, which consists of the top executives of Turkey's largest contracting firms, Zeybekci went to Japan's capital of Tokyo yesterday.

Within the scope of the visit, a seminar on the Turkish-Japanese contracting cooperation will be held. A total of 20 businessmen from 10 companies led by the Turkish Contractors Association Vice Chairman Burak Talu and board member Başar Arıoğlu will join the seminar.

The seminar is aimed at paving the way for partnership between Turkish and Japanese contracting firms in third countries. The Turkish and Japanese delegations will address the opportunities of acting in unison in markets such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, which are mostly dominated by China.

In this context, both delegations aim to combine Turkey's geographical and cultural advantages with Japan's financial and technological facilities. Japan also attaches importance to entering these markets and leans toward cooperating with Turkey in this regard.

Within the framework of contacts, Zeybekci will also meet Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Ken Saito. During the meeting, positive developments affecting trade between the two countries in recent years such as the radiation test applied to agricultural products that Turkey imports from Japan and the removal of the ban on poultry meat that Turkey exports to Japan will be discussed.

Zeybekci will tell the Japanese business world representatives of the investment environment and opportunities in Turkey, especially the project-based incentive system.

He will attend the Third Turkey-Japan Trade and Investment Summit and will hold a round-table meeting with the senior managers of Japanese firms. He will also go to a reception to be held in the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo on the occasion of the first shipment of Turkish poultry meat to Japan.