Ashraf AboArafe
As part of the meetings he holds during his visit to Ankara, Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, met on Tuesday, February 4, with Mr. Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President of the Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB).
Ambassador Tamim Khalaf, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Minister Abdel Aati praised the positive development witnessed by bilateral relations at the economic and commercial levels, as well as the high-level mutual visits between the two countries, stressing the importance attached by the Egyptian and Turkish governments to enhancing trade exchange between the two countries, in order to bring the volume of mutual trade to $15 billion, by enhancing mutual exports and accelerating negotiations to expand the scope of the free trade agreement. Minister Abdel Aati reviewed the steps and measures taken by the Egyptian government over the recent period to prepare the investment environment, pointing out that there are significant opportunities for Turkish investors to benefit from the promising opportunities available for investment in Egypt in various sectors.
The official spokesman added that Minister Abdel Aati stressed the Egyptian government’s keen interest in following up on the status of Turkish investments in the country, pointing out the formation of a committee headed by the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade to work on increasing Turkish investments in Egypt. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also stressed the importance of enhancing aspects of cooperation in the field of tourism by linking Egyptian and Turkish resorts together, and working to attract more incoming tourism from Turkey to Egypt in a way that achieves the common interests of the two countries.
