Turkish minister receives mayor of London

ANKARA (A.A)- Turkey's transportation minister has said that they wanted to benefit from the United Kingdom's experience about construction of subway.
Binali Yildirim received the mayor of London, Lord Michael Bear, and British Ambassador to Turkey David Reddaway in Ankara on Thursday.
"We consider the United Kingdom one of Turkey's biggest commercial partners within the European Union. The United Kingdom is our third biggest commercial partner among the European Union-member countries. As of end-2007, our trade volume with the United Kingdom reached its highest level and became 14 billion USD. Turkey has made a considerable progress in the last eight years as a result of the current atmosphere of stability and confidence," he said at the meeting.
"The transportation sector cannot be separated from economy. The Ministry of Transportation has made 92 billion TL of investments in the last eight years in parallel with the developing economy and increasing trade. We have given priority to underwater tunnels, high-speed-train projects, highway projects and airport projects in the next ten years. The Ministry of Transportation will also be responsible for construction of subways in megacities beginning from Ankara and Istanbul," Yildirim added.
Lord Bear is currently in Ankara on a formal visit. He is accompanied by a crowded delegation of British businessmen during his visit to Ankara and Istanbul from January 26 to 29. Lord Bear is expected to hold a series of talks with several Turkish ministers and businessmen with the aim of boosting commercial relations between the two countries.
Bear is the 683rd Lord Mayor of the City of London, whose one-year term began on 12 November 2010.