German Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia State Wüst emphasized the deepening of economic relations with Türkiye.

Wüst spoke at the Turkey-Germany Roundtable Meeting held in Düsseldorf, Germany, in cooperation with the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Turkey-Germany Business Council, the German-Turkish Business Council (DTWR) and the NRW Global Business Investment and Development Agency.

Wüst stated that Germany and Türkiye have a very close traditional partnership and that the social and economic relations between Türkiye and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia are very strong.

"This situation has to do with the massive migration from Türkiye, especially to the industrial region of NRW," the NRW Prime Minister said. "Since the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of people have come here from Türkiye because they saw here an opportunity to take their lives into their own hands, an opportunity to achieve something, an opportunity to build a better life for their children."

Explaining that 1 million people of Turkish origin live in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Wüst said, "They all contribute to the prosperity of Germany, and many people of Turkish origin build bridges between our countries."

Wüst stated that more than half of the Turkish students studying in Germany are from North Rhine-Westphalia, and that there are many connections between his state and Türkiye in the field of science.

Wüst, noting that the economic relations between North Rhine-Westphalia and Türkiye are deep, made the following assessments:

"One in three companies with Turkish shares is located in North Rhine-Westphalia. One-fifth of German-Turkish trade volume takes place here, with us. This is a strong foundation that we want to develop further. I'm confident that there is tremendous potential for both sides to further deepen economic relations."

Wüst stated that the Turkey-Germany Roundtable Meeting would be beneficial for both Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia, adding, "It is an honor for us to hold this roundtable meeting in Düsseldorf, not in the capital Berlin."

Pointing out that North Rhine-Westphalia is a strong industrial region, Wüst said that Germany also has a 200-year industrial history.

Wüst stated that close partnerships and fair economic relations still hold great potential for greater prosperity, and continued:

Security means peaceful coexistence. Therefore, I am grateful for our Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Türkiye on October 30th. As you know, this is an important trip for him, and it also underscores the importance and value the new federal government places on the German-Turkish partnership. I find this very encouraging and expect great things from this visit. Through closer cooperation, mutual investments, and joint innovations, we will become even closer, and both countries will be able to become even stronger economically. I am delighted that we will be discussing several concrete projects today.

I am very excited, you can always count on the support of my state government for a good and fruitful cooperation.”

Germany's 10th President, Christian Wulff, also stated that Türkiye has made great progress in the defense industry and energy fields in recent years and has become a true global player.

Wulff said, "Above all, Turkey is close to Europe. We know each other and appreciate each other. We don't have problems with transportation routes, distances, or supply chain issues. A Turk producing in Türkiye or investing in Germany can reach Düsseldorf, Cologne, and other airports in North Rhine-Westphalia with a short flight from Istanbul."

Nail Olpak, President of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), said that they want to develop Türkiye's multi-dimensional economic relations with Germany and that they will discuss a very ambitious goal of quintupling the bilateral trade volume, which is approaching 50 billion euros, within 10 years.

Olpak stated that in addition to trade, mutual investments, diaspora relations, and service sectors including tourism are also on their agenda, and that very radical steps must be taken and the necessary infrastructure prepared for such a significant target in trade volume.

Olpak emphasized that modernizing the EU-Turkey Customs Union Agreement is essential to this goal, saying, “Unfortunately, if we can't take this positive step, which will benefit both parties, we will be in a very difficult situation. Visa issues and vehicle transit quotas for Turkish businesspeople are also complementary issues and key factors in boosting trade. Equally important are the strong steps taken by Turkey and Germany in the green and digital transformation areas, and joint efforts in renewable energy investments, a key element of the green transformation, are complementary to this.”

Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ, Chairman of the DEİK Türkiye-Germany Business Council, said that the EU, especially Germany, is very important for Türkiye.

"We consider the EU as a tremendous economic power with a population of 450 million and a value of approximately 20 trillion dollars," said Yalçındağ, adding:

We have a significant level of trade with EU countries, particularly our most important trading partner, Germany, and we intend to increase this. Our countries are located three hours away, and we host approximately 7 million German tourists annually. This is precisely why we believe that Turkey will be a remedy to the problems Germany and Europe face in global politics and trade. We believe that Europe would be incomplete without Turkey, and Türkiye would be incomplete without Europe.

Yalçındağ explained that they have prepared a roadmap with the Boston Consulting Group's German and Turkish offices to increase the trade volume between Germany and Turkey, which is approaching 50 billion euros, to 250 billion euros in 10 years, and that they will present this roadmap to the heads of state of Türkiye and Germany.