India is poised to scale up its economic and strategic ties with Turkey during the Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari's five-day visit to Ankara from Monday. Mr. Ansari will call on Turkish President Hamid Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He will hold delegation-level talks with members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly led by Camil Cicek, speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Discussions will cover the entire gamut of bilateral, regional and international issues. At a meeting with Turkish Chamber of Businessmen and Industrialists in Istanbul the focus will be on expanding economic partnership.

Official sources said that the two countries are exploring the prospects of setting up a Free Trade Agreement to boost economic ties. Trade ties between India and Turkey are expanding with the bilateral trade touching 4 billion US dollars in 2010.

AIR correspondent reports that more than 112 Indian companies have set up their business in Turkey with investments in areas ranging from infrastructure and automobiles to IT and consultancy services.

The Vice President will pay homage to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the iconic founder of Turkey, at his mausoleum in Ankara. He will also visit the historical provinces of Konya and Nevsesir. At Konya, he will be conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Mevlana University.

Mr. Ansari will be accompanied by Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Mukul Wasnik, four members of parliament, and senior officials of the external affairs ministry.