Colombia and Turkey have begun formal negotiations for a free trade agreement, which, if successfully concluded, it is hoped, will herald new trade and investment opportunities, and provide substantial economic benefits.

The talks began on May 30, and were scheduled to continue until June 3. They follow an initial high level meeting, which took place on March 15.

Then, the negotiation framework was agreed upon by team leaders, and two further meetings scheduled, due in July and September.

Colombia's chief negotiator, Santiago Pardo, said draft texts had been exchanged, and requests and offers on tariffs made.

A Colombia-Turkey commercial cooperation agreement, signed in May, 2006, is currently in the process of ratification.

According to Colombian government figures, bilateral trade was worth USD271.4m in 2010, down from the previous year's figure of USD379.5m. Colombia exported goods worth USD214.6m to Turkey in 2010, and imported USD56.7m worth.

June 3^rd, 2011

Source: tax-news.com

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