Türkiye and Egypt on Tuesday agreed on a highway map geared toward including better momentum to bilateral commerce within the coming years, increasing efforts to facilitate fast restoration of regular diplomatic relations.
The plan got here as Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir Saleh arrived in Ankara on a two-day go to, marking the primary such journey in a decade.
Just weeks earlier, Türkiye and Egypt appointed ambassadors to one another’s capitals for the primary time in 10 years after international locations moved to restore relations, which have been strained since a army coup in Egypt in 2013.
Normalization accelerated after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egyptian chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi shook fingers in Doha on the World Cup in 2022 and gained additional tempo following the lethal February earthquakes in Türkiye and Erdoğan’s reelection in May.
Saleh’s go to came across the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Ömer Bolat. The two held talks on financial cooperation and commerce within the capital Ankara. Accompanied by Egyptian businesspeople, Saleh met with executives of Turkish associations and companies on Wednesday.
“We have created a road map for our mutual trade in the next five years. Within this framework, we have set a target of $15 billion (TL 404.55 billion) for mutual trade. We aim to reach this figure in a shorter time,” Bolat stated after talks between the delegations.
The bilateral commerce quantity at present stood at round $10 billion in 2022, in comparison with $1.6 billion in 2007, when a free commerce settlement between the 2 international locations got here into power.
Bolat stated Egypt was Türkiye’s prime commerce accomplice in Africa, voicing what he stated was nice cooperation potential between the 2 international locations.
The settlement on Tuesday additionally included pledges for supporting bilateral investments to ease situations for traders. Various business occasions are additionally deliberate to be organized within the coming interval, in accordance with the Trade Ministry.
Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Egypt had been maintained on the stage of cost d’affaires on either side for the reason that 2013 army coup, which overthrew the late Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.
Cairo and Ankara have additionally been at odds over Libya, the place they backed opposing factions in an unresolved battle, and in addition over maritime borders within the gas-rich Eastern Mediterranean. However, Türkiye has dismissed claims of rivalry with Egypt within the area and reiterated its willingness for extra cooperation.
Egypt, which has been struggling to handle an acute overseas foreign money scarcity, stated in March that Turkish corporations had dedicated to $500 million in new investments within the nation.
Bolat stated Turkish businesspeople and industrialists didn’t go away even throughout Egypt’s most difficult instances. He cited about $2 billion in investments within the nation, which he stated demonstrated Turkish businesspeople’s belief in Egypt’s certified labor power and manufacturing capability.
Turkish contractors have undertaken 27 initiatives price about $1.2 billion in Egypt to this point, in accordance with the minister.
“I am pleased to state that our Turkish contractors are willing to do business with high quality, technically adequate and competitive prices in all infrastructure and superstructure projects that Egypt needs, including some ongoing megaprojects,” Bolat stated.
Among others, he confused additional improvement of relations between Türkiye and Egypt would make a big contribution to the answer of issues in your entire Mediterranean basin, particularly within the Middle East and North Africa.
For his half, Saleh cited lengthy historic hyperlinks, as he pledged Egypt’s will to additional develop financial and commerce relations with Türkiye.
He stated the 2 international locations had been decided to extend cooperation, funding and commerce, recalling that the Egyptian authorities has taken measures to deal with the issues skilled by corporations and facilitate visas.
Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, head of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), echoed Bolat’s view, saying billion-dollar investments demonstrated the business world’s belief in Egypt.
Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed the non-public sector’s will to participate in transportation and infrastructure initiatives, particularly the railway. He stated Turkish businesspeople in Egypt are having bother discovering certified personnel and requested for comfort in granting residence permits to personnel.
The rapprochement with Egypt is a part of Türkiye’s efforts to construct bridges with international locations within the area the place Ankara has not too long ago additionally repaired its ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Erdoğan has repeatedly stated Türkiye hoped to maximise its cooperation with Egypt and Gulf nations “on a win-win basis,” intensifying diplomacy after years of tensions.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
