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Minister, Lord Mayor, my Lords, ladies and gentlemen.

Gunaydin, ho艧 geldiniz!

It really is great to see so many businesses from both our countries, and so many people from both our governments.

I think that鈥檚 a testament to the importance of the relationship we have.

It鈥檚 a relationship the UK government values: an invaluable partner in fighting terrorism; a NATO ally for two-thirds of a century; at the heart of our joint efforts on migration.

And trade and investment are right at the centre of that: Turkish trade matters to Britain.

As I discovered when I visited Istanbul early on in this job, the UK sells more goods to Turkey than to Russia, Brazil or Mexico.

And we鈥檙e Turkey鈥檚 second-largest source of foreign investment.

That鈥檚 going from strength to strength: our trade with each other went up over 50% in just 7 years, hitting 拢15 billion.

There鈥檚 now over 2,700 British companies operating in Turkey 鈥� I can see some of you here today.

And my own connections with Turkey, from studying the language at Cambridge in the 1980s, through to private and ministerial visits in recent years.

And I can see many of you thinking: that鈥檚 all well and good, but what happens when the UK leaves the European Union? How鈥檚 my business going to fare then?

Well let me reassure you: we understand the importance of trade with Europe to your business, and trade with Turkey.

We鈥檙e doing all we can to ensure a smooth transition, and to secure our trade, and your business.

And this isn鈥檛 just good intentions: this is something we鈥檙e taking very seriously.

There鈥檚 a reason David Cameron personally appointed someone of the calibre of Lord Janvrin as trade envoy - who I鈥檓 glad to see here today.

There鈥檚 a reason Turkey is one of the 14 markets with which we鈥檝e set up a trade working group, for our changing trade relations post-Brexit.

And there鈥檚 a reason the next Joint Economic and Trade Committee this autumn will be chaired by Liam Fox, our most senior trade minister, and Nihat Zeybek莽i, Turkey鈥檚 Minister for the Economy.

You see, Brexit isn鈥檛 just about smoothing transitions or solving challenges 鈥� it鈥檚 also about seizing the opportunities of being outside the Customs Union.

According to the IMF, 90% of global growth is going to be outside the EU in the next 10 to 15 years. The pattern of global economic activity is shifting, and over the long-term we鈥檝e got to go where the demand is.

Those aims aren鈥檛 contradictory 鈥� we can maintain good trade relations with countries inside the Customs Union, as well as looking beyond it. It鈥檚 not like there鈥檚 a limited amount of trade or goodwill to go around.

And today鈥檚 a good example of how complementary those can be. British firms can and are collaborating with Turkish ones to seize opportunities in third countries.

Turkey is one of the world鈥檚 largest international construction contractors 鈥� $26 billion in 2016 alone. And UK firms are a natural fit as suppliers, advisers and financers to those projects. We have the world鈥檚 biggest and best financial centre, and a lot of experienced contractors and expert consultants.

That鈥檚 already bearing fruit. Enka UK and General Electric are currently delivering two major power plant projects in southern Iraq, with at least $250 million of UK content. We will hear more about this project today.

The UK government firmly supports this kind of collaboration. The Iraq deal came off the back of $117 million of support from UK Export Finance.

We鈥檝e been working closely with the Turkish Contractors鈥� Association to identify more opportunities like this: and a thankyou to them for their involvement today.

And third-country collaboration is only one part of the opportunity that exists for British businesses in Turkey, and Turkish businesses in the UK.

We鈥檝e got a lot to offer.

Britain is independently ranked by the World Bank as the seventh best place in the world for the ease of doing business; and we鈥檙e almost uniquely open to foreign investors.

We punch well above our weight when it comes to trade and investment. We鈥檙e the world鈥檚 fourth largest exporter 鈥� having overtaken Japan 鈥� and we鈥檝e got 拢1.2 trillion invested abroad.

That makes us a natural pro-trade country; and a natural partner for any country that wants to trade 鈥� especially a country like Turkey, a longstanding ally and a naturally complementary economy to the UK.

That鈥檚 something the British government really values: there鈥檚 a reason we鈥檝e now got a department dedicated solely to international trade.

In a few months the government is going to be launching our new Export Strategy.

As announced a few days ago, part of that is going to focus on helping UK suppliers win contracts in major international projects 鈥� exactly the kind of cooperation we鈥檙e seeing between Turkish firms and UK suppliers in third countries.

And if you鈥檙e a British firm thinking about exporting to Turkey 鈥� or if you鈥檙e a Turkish firm looking to use British contractors, buy British goods or invest in Britain yourself - UK Export Finance can now give up to 拢4 billion of financial support. You can get that in Turkish Lira, too 鈥� buy British, pay local.

And there鈥檚 another 拢9 billion available for the wider Central Asian and South Caucasus region 鈥� where Turkey is very strong indeed 鈥� that could be the help you need to collaborate on third country projects.

That鈥檚 a huge level of support. And it鈥檚 there for a reason. Turkish trade is important to the UK. And UK trade is important for Turkey.

That relationship is important now. It鈥檚 been getting more important in recent years. And it will stay important, once we鈥檝e left the Customs Union.

So if you鈥檙e looking to invest in Britain, export to Turkey 鈥� or work together in a third country 鈥� we want to help you do that.

Because the demand really is out there 鈥� and we鈥檒l back you to get it.

Te艧ekk眉r ederim. Thank you.