Other possible areas of cooperation between the two countries are infrastructure, information technology, automotive and automobile sector, and engineering.

Discussions on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries are underway and a joint study group is examining its feasibility. It is therefore, unlikely that a FTA between the two countries would be signed during the visit of the Vice President. Two-way trade between the two countries touched $ 4 billion in 2010 of which India’s exports were of the order of $ 3.4 billion and imports from Turkey into India accounted for $ 606 million. India recognises the geographical and geopolitical importance of Turkey as a strong democratic, vibrant and economically growing nation situated on the crossroads of Asia and Europe. Both India and Turkey are members of the G20. Today Turkey is the 16th largest economy in the world. It is the only Eurasian country in NATO. Its association with Europe through the Customs Union with the EU could offer opportunities for Indian business.

In November 2008 the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited India and the Prime Minister of Turkey, Abdullah Gul visited India in February 2010. The relationship between the two countries has marked a remarkable improvement since 2000. Till 2000, Turkey had a very close relation with Pakistan and its views on Kashmir not much favourable to India. But recently Prime Minister Erdogan’s party took a neutral position on the Kashmir issue. Today, the economic relations between India and Turkey are much better than those between Pakistan and Turkey.

The Vice President of India is on an official visit to Turkey from October 10 to 15. In Ankara he is slated to hold delegation-level talks with a delegation of Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly led by the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Camil Cicek. Vice President, Ansari will be received by the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, and he is also expected to meet the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is expected that during the discussions between the Vice-President and his Turkish counterparts the entire gamut of bilateral, regional and international issues will be covered.

The Vice-President is slated to pay homage to the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at his Mausoleum in Ankara. He will also visit the historical Provinces of Konya and Nevsesir which is also better known as Cappadocia. He will visit Istanbul where he will participate in a Business Forum at the Turkish Chamber of Businessmen and Industrialists. While in Konya, the Vice-President Ansari will be conferred an Honorary Doctorate for International Relations by the Mevlana University, named after Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, whose Sufi philosophy has found a natural resonance in South Asia’s tradition of Sufism.

The members of the Indian delegation accompanying Vice-President Ansari includes the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Mukul Wasnik, the Members of Parliament like Sitaram Yechury, Ranjitsingh Vijaysinh Patil, Vijay Pal Singh and Ingrid McLeod. Senior officials, including the Secretary to the Vice-President, Shumsher Sheriff and Special Secretary (Public Diplomacy) from the Ministry of External Affairs, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty. Some members of the Indian business who are based in Turkey along with their representatives from India are also part of the delegation.

More than 112 Indian companies have registered their business in Turkey with investments in areas ranging from infrastructure and automobiles to IT and consultancy services. Some of the prominent Indian companies with a presence in Turkey include GMR Infrastructure Limited, which recently won the bid for the construction of the airport in Istanbul on a BOT basis, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance, the Aditya Birla Group, Ispat, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, WIPRO and Dabur India Limited. Among the leading Turkish companies which have a presence in India in the infrastructure and oil and petrochemical sectors are LIMAK Construction and Fernas Construction Company.

The India-Turkish Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation is co-chaired by the commerce ministers of the two countries to give direction towards further consolidation and development of economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries. Both India and Turkey also have signed an Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation as also an Agreement for Reciprocal Protection and Mutual Promotion of Investments. Agreements for development of Science and Technology and for cooperation in the IT sector also exist between the two countries.

Cooperation in the cultural and education sectors has also been fairly active. Since 1995 an Indian professor has been on deputation to the Indology Department in the Ankara University to teach Hindi. Similarly, two Turkish language professors have been deputed to Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia University. MoUs for cooperation have also been concluded between universities in Turkey and India. Indian culture, including films, dance, yoga and Ayurveda and Indian cuisine obviously, have been drawing attention in Turkey.

Turkey’s first Nano-satellite – the ITUpSAT1 - manufactured by the Istanbul Technical University’s Faculty of Aeronautics was launched by ISRO’s PSLV C-14 launch vehicle on September 23, 2009.

There are about 150 Indian nationals in Turkey with most of them in Istanbul working in commercial organisations. A new trend has emerged in Indian professionals moving to Turkey to work in their overseas offices there. There are around a dozen lecturers/professors and around two dozens Indian students in different universities in Turkey including the Mevlana University.