Turkey makes bid to IMPROVE trade post-Brexit as Erdogan makes CONTROVERSIAL tour
TURKISH president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will make a bid to improve trade relations with Britain after Brexit as he continues his controversial three-day visit to the UK amid ongoing controversy.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan: UK is a strategic partner for Turkey
Ahead of the trip, Mr Erdogan said the UK was a "strategic partner and ally" and he wanted to improve trade relations between the two countries.
Mr Erdogan said: "We want to continue our economic relations as the governments of Turkey and the United Kingdom without interruptions after Brexit."
Trade between Turkey and Britain are worth about $16bn (£11.8bn) and have been rising since 2010, with the UK doubling its export finance programme for Turkey to £3.5bn in 2017.
And a deal may be on its way as Theresa May announced last year during a visit to Ankara that British company BAE System would provide the technology and expertise for the first phase of development of a Turkish-made fighter jet.
Mr Erdogan arrived in Britain on Sunday, and is due to meet with the Queen and Prime Minister Theresa May during his trip.
But his presence remains controversial amid accusations of growing authoritarianism in Turkey and also waging war in Afrin, north Syria.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable condemned the visit and accused the Turkish leader of having an "unacceptable disregard for liberal, democratic values".
Sir Vince said: "May's administration appears to have substituted diplomacy for sycophancy in its pursuit of Brexit.
"By permitting a state visit and audience with the Queen, May and Johnson are essentially rolling out the red carpet for a man with a disregard for human rights, who is responsible for alarming oppression and violence."
Mrs May and the Turkish president are set to discuss international issues such as the situation in Cyprus where the two nations act as guarantors.
The Turkish leader will also meet business investors during the visit and speak at the Chatham House think tank.
Relations between London and Ankara are by far the warmest in Europe as many EU members openly boycott Turkey.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson praised the country last year expressing the UK’s support for its efforts regarding the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.
And Ankara still thanks Britain for the solidarity pledged after the failed coup which took place in July 15, 2016.
Speaking of the Turkish leader’s trip, Mrs May's spokesman said: "The visit is an opportunity for the UK and Turkey to demonstrate our close bilateral relationship and to have important discussions about issues of shared interest."
But Mr Erdogan has been accused of eroding human rights, jailing unfriendly members of the press and of the opposition.
Britain has chosen to remain silent in public over these issues.
Whitehall officials believe it would be counterproductive to raise concerns in public while it is much more effective to do it behind closed doors, without risking thriving commercial relations between the countries.
Zoya Meral, a researcher at the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, said: “The British attitude is that, while there are clearly worrying developments in Turkey, engagement is not about an individual.
“It is about the fact that Turkey is too big to walk away from.”