Turkey Country Guide Turkey at your fingertips

Turkey is the 18th largest economy in the world. Turkey is often regarded by economists and political scientists as a newly industrialized country and is a founding member of the OECD and the G-20 major economies

The main sectors are the agricultural, industrial, construction and service sectors.

• Building a personal relationship is very important in Turkey. It is recommended that you spend sufficient time on this. Also in business relationships people regularly inquire about each other's well-being. Bring a Turkish contact person or interpreter, preferably from a large city, who knows the West.
• Family, work and origin are good topics to start a conversation with. Avoid sensitive political and religious topics, or the topic of sexuality. Turks do appreciate the use of humor in communication.
• Mimicry and gestures are important in Turkish communication. Turks keep less distance from each other than is customary with us. Keeping eye contact is important.
• Turkish business culture is formal and characterized by a hierarchical structure. It is important that you speak to the right person within the company you want to do business with. If you are sitting at the table with a high-ranking person, it is wise to bring a delegation of comparable 'weight' yourself. On the other hand, it is not wise to want to skip a few steps on the hierarchical ladder when doing business. Making decisions can take time.
• Every visitor is offered coffee or tea and it is not polite to refuse. Turkish coffee is a national drink.
• Hire a legal advisor who is well versed in Turkish trade laws. He or she must have knowledge of Turkish law to draw up a contract. Record everything accurately in writing. Preferably do this in English. Do not sign the version in Dutch and Turkish. Determine in the contract who the competent court is in the event of a conflict. The administrative backlog of courts in Turkey is enormous. Draw up contracts clearly. Make sure that the opposing party cannot perceive anything in a different way.
   
• Source: Netherlands Enterprise Agency (rvo.nl)

• Turkey is the 37th largest country in the world with an area of 785,350 km²
• Turkey is a parliamentary republic.
• Turkey's GDP is 766 billion (2018)
• The currency is the Turkish Lira
• The economy of Turkey is the 18th largest economy in the world.
• The export from the Netherlands to Turkey is 5.5 billion (2018)
• The import of the Netherlands from Turkey is 3.55 billion (2018)