Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech at the opening of the meeting, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “There is a Free Trade Agreement between Türkiye and Egypt. Egypt is the largest trading partner of our country in Africa. In 2022, our trade volume reached 10 billion dollars. We believe that we can increase our mutual trade to 20 billion dollars in a short time.”

Stating that they are happy that the diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Egypt have been raised to the level of ambassadorship, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that even in difficult times, as representatives of the business world, they always try to keep politics and economy separate and continue their mutual contacts. Pointing out that Türkiye is among Egypt's largest export markets, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “At the same time, Türkiye is among the most important customers buying Egyptian gas.”

Stating that they want to take part in infrastructure projects in Egypt, especially in the field of transportation, especially railways, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We believe that we have cooperation opportunities with Egyptian companies in third countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East. We want to expand the scope of our bilateral relations and deepen them further.”

- Cooperation should increase

Hisarcıklıoğlu said the Mersin-Alexandria and İskenderun-Dimyat Ro-Ro services in 2012-2015 facilitated bilateral trade and doing business with third countries.

Stating that the renewal of the agreement for the continuation of this cooperation will benefit both Türkiye and Egypt, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We especially appreciate the fact that the visa issue has been eased for the business world. In the past, we had problems such as the producer registration system. However, the Egyptian authorities have always been helpful in finding solutions to the problems.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that finding solutions to the problems experienced, including work and residence permits, especially for qualified technical personnel, will encourage Turkish business people for new business opportunities and investments, and said, “As TOBB, we, as the Turkish Business World, will continue to support and take responsibility to improve relations.”

- Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmed Samir Saleh

In his speech, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmed Samir Saleh said that the trade volume between his country and Türkiye has reached 10 billion dollars and that they aim to increase the trade and cooperation between the two countries.

Thanking Hisarcıklıoğlu for his invitation, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Saleh said, “Hisarcıklıoğlu's active role in the past years and his continued communication and visits have undoubtedly contributed greatly to the support of Türkiye-Egypt trade relations.”

Saleh said that he hoped the meeting would contribute to mutual cooperation and increase bilateral trade volume, adding, “We want to develop cooperation with Türkiye.”

Pointing out that the Egyptian government is eager to develop trade relations between Türkiye and Egypt and overcome the difficulties, Saleh said that visa facilitation was provided to Turkish citizens in this direction, adding that the visa issue previously posed difficulties for Turkish business people.

Saleh pointed out that despite the current economic difficulties, the trade volume between the two countries has reached 10 billion dollars and said that Türkiye and Egypt want to further increase bilateral trade.

Saleh underlined that the two countries want to develop economic relations in the fields of medical and chemical industries, potassium, food, engineering and automotive industries, stressing that Egypt and Türkiye share a common history and culture and that developing economic relations would be in the interest of both peoples.

- Mohamed Al-Sewedy, President of the Federation of Egyptian Industries

Mohamed Al-Sewedy, President of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, stated that the Egyptian government is making efforts to increase foreign investments in the country and said, “(Egypt's) Prime Minister expresses his readiness to provide some incentives. Let's take advantage of these opportunities and increase investments.”

Al-Sewedy pointed out that Turkish business people continued their investments in Egypt's difficult times and said, “Because we do not mix politics in the field of industry and economy. Politics comes and goes, but investment should continue.”

Al Wakeel underlined that the development of bilateral trade will provide a better life for the peoples of the two countries and job opportunities for their youth, noting that if the opportunities that both sides have are utilized, they can have the chance to penetrate the markets of third countries.

After the speeches, the meeting continued closed to the press.