The North Rhine-Westphalian location marketing campaign “We love the new …” starts in Turkey / 280 Turkish companies have offices in North Rhine-Westphalia

05.29.2009 Istanbul – North Rhine-Westphalia is to be promoted in Turkey with a view to attracting investments. At a press conference, Christa Thoben – Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia – introduced the location marketing campaign “We love the new… ”, with which she intends to generate interest among Turkish companies for North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location. She was accompanied by representatives of well-known companies, such as RWE and Metro, who lend the campaign their support as sponsors and patrons.

Begun in October 2008, the campaign focuses on the innovative strength and cosmopolitan attitude of the region, and is aimed at positioning Germany’s most populated federal state as a leading European region. Turkey is one of the campaign’s most important target countries. “A long tradition connects Turkey and North Rhine-Westphalia – and this is not only reflected in their economic partnership, but also in partnerships of a sporting and cultural nature. A high level of dynamism has characterized the development of trading relations over the past few years. And trade and investment is an area we strive to continually develop upon,” explained Christa Thoben, Minister for Economic Affairs, at a press conference in Istanbul.

Foreign trade between Turkey and North Rhine-Westphalia amounted to approx. 5.9 billion euros in 2008 and has almost doubled in the past ten years. Exports to Turkey in 2008 amounted to 3.5 billion euros and imports from Turkey, to 2.4 billion euros.

Energy plays an important role in the Turkish-North Rhine-Westphalian partnership. North Rhine-Westphalia is Europe’s No. 1 state for energy. The considerable increase in demand for energy in Turkey has thus generated new potential for cooperation in the area of renewable energy, particularly water and wind power. Solar and geothermal energy are also of interest.

North Rhine-Westphalia is also the heartland of Turkish migration to Germany. 570,000 citizens of Turkish migratory background live here – a third of all Turkish migrants in Germany. In the last few years, North Rhine-Westphalia has become the favored investment location for Turkish companies in Europe: 280 Turkish companies with headquarters in Turkey have already invested in North Rhine-Westphalia, including companies such as Alfa Möbel (Alfa Furniture) and Cilek Germany, the tourism company GTI Travel, the clothing manufacturer Sarar and the logistics company Gökbora. And investments in Turkey by North Rhine-Westphalian companies have amounted to one billion euros per year since 2003. Many renowned NRW companies have subsidiaries in Turkey, among these international corporations and SMEs such as Aunde, BASF Coatings, Bayer, DHL, MAN Ferrostaal, Metro, Oschatz and RWE.

For the launch of the campaign “We love the new...” in Turkey, North Rhine-Westphalia developed a website in Turkish, an image film as well as adverts for leading Turkish media. Football star Halil Altintop is just one of the celebrities to grace the print ads aimed at promoting North Rhine-Westphalia among Turkish investors. Cemalettin Sarar, Chief Executive Officer of the clothing company Sarar Giyim Tekstil Sanayi Ve Ticaret is the campaign’s ambassador in Turkey. The international fashion company’s European headquarters have been located in Düsseldorf since 1999.

Istanbul and the city of Essen in North Rhine-Westphalia have one very important thing in common: both are European Capitals of Culture for 2010. The RUHR.2010 GmbH is the company responsible for preparing and implementing the celebratory program for the European Capital of Culture, and indeed, all the marketing and tourism measures that go with it. RUHR.2010 GmbH works closely with the European Capitals of Culture.

You can find more information on North Rhine-Westphalia’s location marketing campaign on the internet at: www.welovethenew.com


About NRW.INVEST Turkey
The representative of NRW.INVEST in Istanbul provides Turkish companies with information on North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location, its environment and investment climate, legal and social conditions in Germany, cities and locations, trade fairs and market opportunities.

It is the initial point of contact for Turkish companies intending to invest in NRW and provides companies interested in setting up a business with local advice, to smooth their path into North Rhine-Westphalia.

Contact: 
NRW.INVEST Turkey
Economic Development Agency of the
German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
Dr. Adem Akkaya
Inönü Cad. 24/4 Gümüssuyu - Taksim
34437 Istanbul, Türkiye
Tel.: +90 (0) 212 249 18 48
Fax: +90 (0) 212 249 18 49
E-Mail: info@nrwinvest-istanbul.com.tr
www.nrwinvest.com