Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, has said that Egypt aspires to boost relations with Turkey in various areas of common interest. He pointed out the important role of the Turkish Federation of Chambers and Stock Exchanges in supporting trade relations between the two countries. Samir made that statement in the context of the speech he delivered during the roundtable meeting held at the headquarters of the Turkish Federation of Chambers and Stock Exchanges, headed by Refat Hisarcıklioğlu, President of the Federation. The meeting was attended by Amr Al-Hamami, Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey; Mohamed El-Sewedy, President of the Federation of Egyptian Industries; Ahmed El-Wakil, President of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce; Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah, Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service; Amani Al-Wasal, Head of the Agreements and Foreign Trade Sector at GOEIC; and Alaa Ezz, Secretary-General of the Federation Chambers of Commerce. Additionally, representatives of 23 of the largest Turkish companies specialized in the fields of spare parts, textiles, food commodities, packaging, clothing, glass, and home appliances were also present. Samir said that the Egyptian side looks forward to having the meeting mark a new start for more momentum in many aspects of cooperation between companies and businessmen from both countries. He noted that there is currently an increase in the volume of merchandise trade between Egypt and Turkey, exceeding the barrier of $7bn for the first time during 2022, despite the economic challenges the world witnessed. That reflects the aspirations of the two countries and the optimal utilization of the ingredients available to them. Moreover, the number of Turkish companies investing in Egypt exceeds 790, as the volume of Turkish investments is estimated at about $2.5bn, in addition to the new investments that were pumped in 2020 at a value of $400m in the medical sector, the cosmetics, chemical, furniture, food and engineering industries. Refat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Federation of Turkish Chambers and Stock Exchanges, said that the Federation is keen on cooperating with its Egyptian counterpart on the bilateral level, in addition to many international federations. Hisarcıklıoğlu added that the Federation is proud of the important role that Turkish investors play in Egypt, through manufacturing and exporting. For instance, Turkish companies are among the top textile exporters in Egypt. He added that Egypt is Turkey's largest trading partner in Africa, highlighting the two countries' ability to double the volume of intra-trade in the near future. Mohamed El Sewedy, President of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, stressed the federation's keenness on enhancing industrial and investment cooperation between Egypt and Turkey. He pointed out that during the meeting, the federation presented investment opportunities in the market, opened channels of permanent communication with the Turkish side, and promoted Turkish investments in Egypt. Ahmed El-Wakeel, head of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, said that it was agreed to hold a meeting of the African-Turkish and Arab-Turkish chambers in Cairo, to activate tripartite cooperation between Egyptian and Turkish companies. This aims to explore the optimal utilization of the comparative advantages of both parties to enter new markets. Alaa Ezz, Secretary General of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, stated that the number of Turkish companies operating in Egypt this week is expected to exceed 800, as one of the positive results of the Egyptian delegation's visit to Turkey, and that their number will exceed 1,000 by the end of the year.
