UK opens trade talks with Turkey

The United Kingdom Thursday began post-Brexit trade talks with Turkey, seeking greater opportunities for its service industries.

The talks were officially opened in London by Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch and her Turkish counterpart Omer Bolat.

"There are huge opportunities as Turkey has one of the fastest growing economies in the OECD and is home to 85 million people," Badenoch's office said in a statement.

"The UK and Turkey have a strong economic relationship, with trade between the two worth almost o26 billion ($33 billion) in 2022."

Britain has been seeking to sign trade deals ever since leaving the European Union (EU) in January 2021.

Besides the EU, it has signed accords with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. It is currently in talks with Mexico and South Korea, while talks with India drag on.

The UK also joined 11 Asia-Pacific countries who are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

It has failed to reach a much-wanted accord with the United States, and instead has signed various non-binding cooperation agreements with individual states.

Talks with Canada were broken off at the start of the year after they failed to reach agreement about agricultural trade.