09.02.2024 Ankara
Türkiye-Kyrgyzstan Business Forum was held in cooperation with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) with the participation of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Japarov, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Kyrgyzstan CCI President Temir Sariev and DEİK President Nail Olpak.
The Union of Chambers
and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu
said that the two countries have made progress in economic and commercial
relations and that they desire to raise this to higher levels.
Pointing out that
Kyrgyzstan has entered a great breakthrough and reform process in recent years,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “Nearly 500 companies with Turkish capital are operating
in Kyrgyzstan in various sectors. These companies provide employment to
thousands of Kyrgyz brothers and sisters. Turkish contractors have so far
completed 93 projects in Kyrgyzstan with an investment value of around 1
billion dollars. With these projects, our companies have supported the
development move undertaken by Kyrgyzstan since its independence. We are proud
of the investments of our companies in Kyrgyzstan exceeding 1 billion dollars.
I hope that we will undertake much more successful projects in this new
period.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that the trade target of 5 billion dollars between the two countries is
realistic and he believes that this will be achieved.
Emphasizing that
Kyrgyzstan is a friendly and brotherly country, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on: “The
scale of your investments in Kyrgyzstan is not only the Kyrgyz market.
Investments in Kyrgyzstan mean reaching a much wider region due to the Eurasian
Customs Union. This means a market of 180 million people. Kyrgyzstan also
neighbors China. The Chinese market should not be ignored. Our medium- and
long-term vision should definitely be the establishment of our own customs
union within the Organization of Turkic States. Kyrgyzstan is the first country
in the Organization of Independent States to become a member of the World Trade
Organization. The political map of Eurasia, which has been reshaped in the last
30 years, requires us to act in cooperation.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that they are ready to transfer their experience for the modernization of
Kyrgyzstan customs and said, “As TOBB, we have provided significant cost
advantages to our exporters by modernizing Türkiye's land customs gates. We are
ready to do the same here. There are also serious cooperation opportunities in
the field of logistics. Transportation costs should be reduced to increase
bilateral trade. Alternative transportation opportunities should be developed
for land transportation.”
Pointing out that the
revitalization of the Silk Road has regained importance, Hisarcıklıoğlu said,
“The Middle Belt is our first choice. In this way, the Caspian, Black Sea and
Mediterranean will be connected to each other and our region will be more
strongly integrated into the global economy. Another area of cooperation is the
generation of electricity from the rich water resources in Kyrgyzstan. Once the
necessary investment conditions are established, we can develop joint projects
to bring Kyrgyzstan's hydroelectric potential into the economy. We express that
we are ready to do our part as the business world at every opportunity.”
- Vice President Yılmaz
In his speech, Vice
President Cevdet Yılmaz thanked Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz people and business
people who rushed to help during the February 6 earthquakes and said that this
solidarity will always remain in the memory of the Turkish nation.
Explaining that
Kyrgyzstan's national income exceeded 12 billion dollars in 2023 and that it
has grown by an average of 7 percent in the last three years, Yılmaz emphasized
that Türkiye will provide all the support it can in the realization of
Kyrgyzstan's National Development Strategy for 2018-2040.
“As Türkiye, we will
continue to provide all manner of support to Kyrgyzstan, a friendly and
brotherly country on every platform.” Yılmaz said that the trade volume between
the two countries exceeded one billion dollars in 2022, increased by 42 percent
to 1.6 billion dollars in 2023, the target of 2 billion dollars can be reached
this year and 5 billion dollars is targeted in the medium-term.
Yılmaz pointed out that
there are many opportunities for Kyrgyz business people in Türkiye, especially
in the fields of renewable energy, agricultural technologies, defense industry
and tourism, and went on: “Increasing mutual investments will make a great
contribution to the development of our trade. Serious investments need to be
made in transportation infrastructure in brotherly Kyrgyzstan. Similarly, there
are investment opportunities in a wide range of fields such as
telecommunications, hydroelectricity, micro-carbon industry, minerals, metal
and precious stone mining, textile, food processing, agricultural products,
packaging industry and tourism. We recommend and wish you, our esteemed Turkish
and Kyrgyz business people, to take bold steps and cooperate more in these
areas and develop partnerships”.
Following the speeches,
9 memorandums of understanding were signed between Türkiye and Kyrgyzstan
business world regarding cooperation in various fields.