South and east European countries wish to double trade volume in the next five years by enhancing cooperation in the region, Turkish state minister said here on Tuesday.

Addressing the "Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Trade of South-East European Countries", Turkish State Minister Zafer Caglayan said that the trade volume between the countries of South- East Europe was over 72 billion U.S. dollars in 2007 and that the figure dropped to 53 billion dollars in 2009 due to the global financial crisis.

The semi-official Anatolia news agency quoted the minister as saying that the platform (on South and east European countries) will help the regional geography to realize its potential, create opportunities for joint cooperation, and facilitate growth of the regional countries in a stable way.

Caglayan said that one of the ways to boost trade in the region is to form cooperation in the transportation sector, adding: "We must lift all obstacles to land transportation in the region."

"Our goal should be to end all bureaucratic procedures, including charging fees, for trucks travelling in the region," he said.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the regional countries was over 1.3 trillion dollars. There is a great potential for the region with its trade volume of more than 500 billion dollars and a population of 140 million people.

Turkey has a total investment of 4 billion dollars in the southeastern European region. Turkish contractors are active in the region and have assumed 230 projects worth around 9 billion dollars.

However, the meeting continued closed to the press following Caglayan's speech.