Turkish ambassador receives Turkish/Egyptian businessmen… Egypt and Turkey discuss trade exchange LE X TR..Turkish tourist obtains a visa at the airport like a European tourist… Turkish Minister of Commerce visits Egypt October 28
Ashraf AboArafe
Praising the depth of Egyptian-Turkish relations, Turkish Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen held a consultative meeting for investors on Tuesday evening, in the presence of representatives of more than 50 Turkish companies in Egypt. He stressed that trade exchange between the two countries was not affected during the tense relations due to the strong historical relations.
“Egypt will begin discussing the mechanism of trade exchange with Turkey in local currencies, next week,” said the Head of the Commercial Representation Authority and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah, during a press conference held by Shin, the Turkish ambassador to Egypt, this evening, on the occasion of holding the consultative meeting for Turkish investors in Cairo: “The two countries’ central banks will discuss the mechanism for implementing trade exchange between the two countries in local currencies next week. Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, visited Turkey, at the head of an official delegation, to discuss cooperation between the two sides, after raising the level of diplomatic representation to its highest levels. In principle, the two ministers agreed to exchange trade in local currencies at a rate of 25% – 30% to enable investors wishing to deal in dollars to provide foreign exchange that would enable them to import manufacturing needs of machines and raw materials.
Al-Wathiq added that the number of Turkish companies in Egypt exceeds 100, with investments amounting to 5 billion dollars, noting that dozens of Turkish companies every month are interested in investing in Egypt, and there are those who have agreed on many investments, and recently there have been investments worth 200 million dollars in the field of cardboard and paper.
In response to cooperation in the field of car manufacturing and assembly, Al-Wathiq Billah said that there are agreements on cooperation in the industries that feed cars, adding that Turkey has the experience of the first electric car. He continued: “It is an honorable thing to manufacture a car in Turkey, but discussing the production of a joint car has not been achieved.” To be determined yet.
Al-Wathiq also pointed out that there are multiple Turkish investments, such as clothing, leather, dyeing, and gelatin, and companies considering entering the field of technology. He pointed out that trade exchange is balanced, and most Turkish companies invest their profits at home by establishing new factories. Directives have also been issued for Turkish tourists to be treated like Europeans by obtaining… Visa at the airport. The number of Turkish companies operating in Egypt is 800 companies with investments amounting to $2.5 billion, confirming that dozens of Turkish companies every month show interest in investing in Egypt, some of which have agreed to invest $200 million in the field of cardboard and paper.
The head of the Investment Authority added that the Central Bank of Egypt will discuss with its Turkish counterpart next week the mechanism for implementing trade exchange between the two countries in local currencies, as Egypt and Turkey aim to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two countries to $15 billion over the next five years, compared to $10 billion currently.
Regarding cooperation in the field of car manufacturing and assembly, Al-Wathiq Billah said: There are agreements on cooperation in the industries that feed cars, and he praised the experience of the first electric car.
