Government officials in Egypt and Turkey are aiming to enhance cooperation and raise the volume of trade exchange between the two countries to US$15 billion annually.
They also aim to expand the free trade agreement signed between the two countries in 2005, which entered into force in 2007, and attract more Turkish investments to Egypt.
Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan al-Khatib left Cairo on Monday, heading to Turkey, on an important visit that includes intensive meetings with senior Turkish officials, businessmen, and officials of business unions and companies to discuss ways to enhance trade and investment relations.
The visit aims to introduce the Turkish business community to the many investment opportunities and assets in Egypt, as well as the measures and procedures currently adopted by the Egyptian government to facilitate investors and facilitate the export and import system.
It also seeks to attract more Turkish investments to the Egyptian market and increase trade rates between the two countries.
Important meetings
The minister is scheduled to participate in the meetings of the 40th session of the Council of Trade Ministers of the Standing Committee for Trade and Economic Cooperation, affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Khatib will also meet with the Turkish Minister of Trade, Omer Bolat, and his counterparts from several of the countries participating in the meeting, in addition to holding an expanded meeting with the head and members of the Turkish side in the Joint Business Council.
The minister will also participate in meetings organized by the Egyptian Trade Office in Turkey, with Turkish business associations, including the Union of Automotive Manufacturers, the Union of Contractors, the Turkish Union of Independent Manufacturers, and the Union of Automotive Component Manufacturers.
And Khatib will hold meetings with major Turkish companies operating in the fields of furniture, contracting, ready-made garments, retail, industrial development, leather, ceramics, asset management, wood industry, and others.
Strengthening bonds
In September, during the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to Ankara, Egypt and Turkey signed 17 new agreements to enhance cooperation between the two countries, in a move widely seen as opening of a new phase in relations.
The agreements included various fields vary between industry, trade, defense, health, environment, and energy.
Data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics indicate that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Turkey reached three billion during the first half of 2024, compared to $3.7 billion during the same period in 2023.
