Turkey, Lebanon to sign free trade agreement
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Turkey said on Saturday that it will sign a free trade agreement with Lebanon after Ramadan as part of efforts to establish a free trade area.
The statement was made by Turkish State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan at a meeting with officials from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
"Following the signing of the agreement, free trade agreements will be concluded among Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey," the minister said.
Officials from the four countries gathered here to discuss the establishment of a High Level Quartet Cooperation Council and the process of setting up a free trade area.
The Turkish minister said removal of the visa procedures would enable free circulation of citizens and businessmen and the free trade area would enable the same opportunities to the products.
"This will herald a prosperous geographical area that would be established in the heart of the Middle East," he said.
A declaration is expected to be released on Sunday, according to a report by Anatolia.
On June 10, foreign ministers of the four countries decided in Istanbul to set up a "high-level quartet cooperation council" to strengthen the existing cooperation, develop long-term strategic partnership and solidarity, and further improve the economic integration.
They also decided to establish a zone among the four countries where there is free movement of products and people.
The total economic size of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, which are planning to establish a common trade and visa area, is expected to exceed 1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2010.
According to the purchasing power parity (PPP) data in International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s "World Economic Outlook" report for April 2010, Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach 932.2 billion U.S. dollars, while Syria's GDP will rise up to 105.2 billion dollars, Lebanon's GDP to 58.5 billion dollars and Jordan's figures to 35.2 billion dollars in 2010.
In the light of such information, the four countries' GDP according to PPP would reach 1.13 trillion dollars, with Turkey's share amounting to 82 percent of the total figure.
Moreover, Turkey is expected to become the 16th biggest economy in the world this year, as Syria will be ranked the 66th, Lebanon the 84th and Jordan the 98th in the listing, IMF's report says.
The total population of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria is also expected to increase to 102 million in 2010.
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