World press on French-Turkish relations (December 11, 2012)

Hurriyet published an article by Laurent Fabius headlined 'France and Turkey: New horizons for a long-standing relationship.' 

"The president of the French Republic has marked France’s will to establish a “stable and trusting relationship” with Turkey. In preparation for his forthcoming visit to Turkey, I would like to encourage us here and now to drive forward our bilateral relations," the article begins.

"We often find that little is known about the importance of our economic and trade relations. Who today knows that Turkey is our 12th customer worldwide, and our fifth largest market outside the EU and Switzerland, well ahead of emerging countries such as Brazil and India? In recent years, our trade has flourished with exports to Turkey having increased by two and a half times in just 10 years," the author writes.

"France has an impressive network of 10 world-class, French-speaking establishments in Turkey. In the scientific field, we conduct joint world-class projects every year on the Programme Bosphore," the article reads. "As NATO allies, France and Turkey take part in joint missions. Our relationship offers all the more opportunities to work together, since Turkish foreign policy has largely broadened its horizons this last decade."

"We have a great deal to do and to develop in all sectors of our cooperation, in the cultural and scientific areas, in internal security, in justice, in agriculture, and in business, in particular to encourage French businesses to work with the Turkish market and to encourage Turkish firms to invest in France," the article reads.

"The progress made in these areas, and the progress ongoing, means that today we can look forward to our future relations with optimism and ambition. I welcome this progress and will personally work on further developments with strength and conviction," the author concludes.