A crossroads where Europe, the Mid East and Central Asia meet, Turkey may still have a long way to go before joining the EU, but its economy is already integrated with that of the West.

Ankara (AsiaNews) – Brussels might be getting cold feet despite its go-ahead to negotiations over Turkey's entry in the European Union, but Italian companies have been eager to move into the potentially huge Turkish market for some time; the same is true for Italian political leaders.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi took part in the November 17 inauguration of the ENI-funded Blue Stream gas pipeline linking Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea. Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini arrived in Ankara yesterday to begin an official state visit to Turkey.

The visit and Italian-Turkish relations are front-page news in the Turkish press. Under a huge title that says "Italia", Hurriyet carried a big photo of the Italian president as well as an article signed by him.

Milliyet wrote that "Turkey was under siege by Italian businessmen" underscoring the fact that some 600 Italian entrepreneurs are scheduled to meet representatives of 1,200 Turkish companies in a few days time in 2,900 bilateral meetings thanks to the work of the Italian Foreign Trade Institute.

For some time, Turkey has been a good place for Italian companies to invest. Strategically located at a crossroad between Europe and the Mid East, Turkey has evolved from a largely agricultural and crafts-based manufacturing economy to one that is industry-based and increasingly integrated in the EU zone.

This explains why Turkey has become the EU's main trading partner. Indeed, Italy is Turkey's main export partner after Germany and its fourth customer.

The secret in close Italian-Turkish economic ties lies in the fact that the two have similar, yet complimentary economies. In both countries small- and medium-size companies play an important role in the overall economy, and their sectors of specialisation are the same. 

Italians provide capital and technology in sectors such as textiles, clothing, automobile, agriculture, leather goods and furniture, whilst Turks provide a trained local workforce and good understanding of regional markets, especially in Central Asia (Turkic Republics, Afghanistan and Iraq).

The relationship goes back almost 40 years. The first successful Italian-Turkish joint-venture came in 1968 when FIAT built a car plant with its Turkish associate Tofas, eventually becoming Turkey's main car exporter (especially with the Doblo and Palio models, whose production was moved to Turkey from Brazil).

Currently, 7,180 Italian companies are operating in Turkey, especially from the regions of Lombardy and Venetia. But Emilia-Romagna holds the record in proportional terms—about 9.3 per cent of all its exporters have links with Turkey.

Since 1994 one of Barilla Foods' eight flour mills (five are in Italy) are in Bolu, northern Turkey, from where it supplies durum wheat to the whole group as well as to local pasta makers, including the Filiz brand name, a Barilla Turkish associate.

Companies from Lombardy have focused on Turkey's Aegean coastline for its infrastructure, efficient transportation and ideal strategic position close to the Mediterranean.

Companies from Venetia have turned instead eastward to the Gaziantep region, a required crossroads between the Mid East, the Caucasus and Central Asia; the centre of the Great Anatolian Project—a vast hydroelectric plan in south-eastern Turkey involving the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers—that includes a vast duty-free zone offering tax breaks, cheap land and storage facilities and minimal red tape.

Emilia-Romagna companies have instead shown more interested in old Cilicia, the most productive agricultural zone of Anatolia, which also benefits from being a duty-free zone.

Turks from every walk of life trust that with Turkey's workforce and Italian investments jobs can be created and a higher standard of living be achieved.

Although Turkish papers and TV stations advertise once unknown Italian products and luxury items that the average Turkish consumer cannot afford, most Turks still buy at the local bazaar products—clothes, shoes, cosmetics, furniture and home and office products—that carry the 'Made in Italy' label (original or fake) convinced of their good quality. (M Z) 

• turkey
• italy
• european
• union
• russia
• investment
• gas
• pipeline
• duty-free
• zones