21.01.2022 ANKARA
M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), stated that as Turkish investors, they have never stopped investing in Egypt and want to expand the scope of bilateral relations.
Hisarcıklıoğlu met with
Ibrahim El Araby, President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce
(FEDCOC), and his delegation at TOBB Twin Towers.
Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu
said that they visited Cairo in September last year, that Al Araby and his team
welcomed them very warmly and that a delegation of business people from Egypt
discussed visiting Turkey.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that the dialogue between the countries made the business world of both
countries happy and said that they are ready to do their best to contribute to
the process.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
underlined that they always try to keep politics and economy separate, and
said: “As Turkish investors, we have never stopped our investments in Egypt.
Turkish companies have over $2 billion in investments in Egypt. In 2021 alone,
Turkish companies invested an additional $250 million in Egypt. I am pleased to
follow that discussions have been held with Turkish companies, especially al-Arabi
Group, my dear brother Al Araby's company, for additional investment.”
- “We believe that we
have contracting opportunities with Egyptian companies in third countries”
Hisarcıklıoğlu noted
that 200 companies, 40 of them large-scale, are producing in Egypt, adding that
they provide additional employment and export.
Emphasizing that
Turkish companies also employ around 75,000 Egyptian citizens, Hisarcıklıoğlu
pointed out that there is a Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Egypt.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that Egypt is Turkey's largest trading partner in Africa with the contribution
of the agreement, adding that its trade volume exceeded $6 billion in 2021 and
increased by 35 percent compared to 2020.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that they believe that there are opportunities to trade and invest more,
adding: "Our contractors have completed 26 projects in Egypt worth $900
million, including an airport and others. 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 expand and deepen the scope of our bilateral relations.
Mersin-Alexandria and Iskenderun-Dimyat Ro-Ro expeditions in 2012-2015
facilitated our bilateral trade and business together in third countries.
Renewing this agreement will benefit Turkey and Egypt. I invite Egyptian
companies to invest in Turkey. As TOBB, the Turkish Business community, we are
ready to support to improve relations.”
- “We can open up to
the Arab world together”
FedCOC President
Ibrahim Al Araby also called for mutual investment, noting the importance of
opening up new investment opportunities for them.
Al-Araby said that as
investments increase, areas of cooperation will diversify. “That way we can
open up to the Arab world together. In the same way, we can carry out our
exports to EU countries in this way. If we turn to the areas of cooperation
between the two countries, we have the opportunity to export goods with zero
customs. There may be problems faced by Turkish companies in Egypt. We as a
federation are doing everything we can to help. We'll have our new building
very soon. I would like to take this opportunity to see Mr. Hisarcıklıoğlu 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 works here.”