Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

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.”