VII. CONCLUSION
55. We were impressed by the energy for change
that we found it Turkey, and by the determination shown to implement
the financial reform programme. This bodes well for Turkey's eventual
EU membership. We do not know how long the accession process will
take; it is already having a modernising effect on Turkey's social
and economic policies. We are concerned at the apparent ease with
which the Turkish economy can be disturbed by relatively minor
occurrences, thus causing problems with a steady economic reform.
56. There is potential for growth in UK-Turkish trade.
Once interest rates are low and stable, and inflation is brought
down to single figures, there is reason to think that UK investors
will begin to see Turkey as a promising trading nation. The acceleration
of the privatisation agenda could well lead to the development
of links between for example utility and telecommunications companies.
In the medium to long term, there is every prospect of Turkey's
continuing to grow in significance as a trading partner for the
UK, in due course as a fellow member state of the European Union.
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