The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarciklioglu stated that as Turkish investors, they have never stopped their investments in Egypt and they want to expand the scope of bilateral relations.
Rıfat Hisarciklioglu came together with the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) President Ibrahim El Araby and his delegation at the meeting at TOBB Twin Towers.
Rifat Hisarciklioglu, in his speech here, said that they visited Cairo in September of last year, that El Araby and his team welcomed them very warmly, and that they talked about the visit of a business delegation from Egypt to Turkey.
“WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROCESS”
Stating that the dialogue between the countries made both the business world happy, Hisarciklioglu said that they are ready to do their best to contribute to the process.
He underlined that they always try to keep politics and economy separate and made the following assessment:
“As Turkish investors, we have never stopped our investments in Egypt. Turkish companies have investments of over $2 billion in Egypt. In 2021 alone, Turkish companies invested an additional $250 million in Egypt. I am glad to follow that negotiations are being held with Turkish companies, especially the company of my dear brother El Araby, El Arabi Group, for additional investments.”
“WE BELIEVE WE HAVE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES IN THIRD COUNTRIES WITH EGYPTIAN COMPANIES”
Hisarciklioglu pointed out that 200 companies, 40 of which are large-scale, are producing in Egypt, adding that they provide additional employment and export.
Emphasizing that Turkish companies also provide employment to around 75,000 Egyptian citizens, Hisarciklioglu pointed out that there is a Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Egypt.
Expressing that with the contribution of the said agreement, Egypt is Turkey’s largest trade partner in Africa, Hisarciklioglu said that in 2021, the trade volume exceeded $6 billion and increased by 35% compared to 2020.
Expressing that they believe they have more trade and investment opportunities, Hisarciklioglu said:
“Our contractors have completed 26 projects such as airports and similar projects worth $900 million in Egypt. We would like to take part in infrastructure projects in the field of transportation, especially railways. We believe that we have opportunities to cooperate with Egyptian companies in contracting and other fields in third countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East. We want to broaden and further deepen the scope of our bilateral relations. Mersin-Alexandria and Iskenderun-Dimyat Ro-Ro services, which existed in the 2012-2015 period, facilitated our bilateral trade and business together in third countries. Renewing this agreement will be beneficial for Turkey and Egypt. I invite Egyptian companies to invest in Turkey. We, as TOBB, are ready to support to improve relations as the Turkish Business World.”
“WE CAN OPEN UP TO THE ARAB WORLD TOGETHER”
FEDCOC President Ibrahim El Araby also drew attention to the importance of opening new investment opportunities for them in his speech calling for mutual investment.
Stating that as the investments increase, the areas of cooperation will diversify, El Araby said:
“In this way, we can open up to the Arab world together. Likewise, we can carry out our export activities to EU countries in this way. If we turn to cooperation areas between the two countries, we will have the opportunity to export goods with zero customs. There may be problems that Turkish companies face in Egypt. We as a federation do our best to help. Very soon we will have our new building. I would like to take this opportunity to see Hisarciklioglu at the opening ceremony. Egyptian businessmen representing various sectors will be there. We can organize a big conference there with Turkish investors. We can discuss our future, the future of these studies, here.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz