Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

At the “Africa Tourism: Culture and Inheritance” meeting organized as a part of the second Africa Day Celebration, Hisarcıklıoğlu criticized the decision of the German Parliament and Armenian allegations, “The decision is a historic mistake; unfortunately it will be remembered as a black mark on Turkish-German relations.”

Stating that Turkey has close trade relations with many countries in northern Africa, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Our relations with Sub-Saharan Africa countries have leapt forward in the last 20 years. Our trade volume has increased by more than 10 times since 2000, reaching 8.5 billion USD from 750 million USD. This is a very important milestone. But is it enough? We all know that it isn’t. This figure is something that will encourage us.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that Turkey’s investments into the continent have reached 6 billion USD, “Most employment is generated by Turkish investments when we look at all direct foreign investments. Turkish companies give priority to local employment in their investments into African countries.”

Emphasizing the need for expanding the scope of investments into Africa, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We want our business community to carry on their potential to Africa.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu also touched on the positive impact of tourism on national economy and said, “Tourism invigorates many sectors of the economy ranging from construction to food to civil aviation. Turkey has an approximate annual tourism income of 35 billion USD. When we factor in its overall impact, it triggers economic activity equal to 100 billion USD. Africa needs powerhouse sectors like tourism.”