Ashraf AboArafe
The Cooperation Forum between the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce was held on February 1 in New Alamein, on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, marking one of the largest business gatherings ever convened between Turkey and Egypt.
The forum brought together leading figures from the business communities of both countries. Around 200 presidents and senior officials representing trade, industry, and commodity exchanges from Turkey participated, alongside more than 100 Egyptian business representatives. The event was hosted at the Rixos Alamein Hotel.
The Turkish delegation was led by Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, while the Egyptian side was headed by Ahmed El Wakil, President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce. The forum was also attended by Salih Mutlu Şen, Ambassador of Turkey to Cairo, who traveled from the capital to Alamein specifically to take part in the event.
In his opening remarks, Ahmed Kouchouk, Egypt’s Minister of Finance, highlighted the positive economic and trade developments Egypt has witnessed recently, stressing the country’s openness to deeper commercial and economic cooperation with Turkish business leaders.
For their part, Hisarcıklıoğlu and El Wakil underscored the importance of strengthening trade, economic, industrial, and technological cooperation between the two countries, emphasizing that Turkey and Egypt will remain among each other’s most important commercial and industrial partners in the future.
In a notable address, Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen stated that Egypt has entered a phase of clear recovery in macroeconomic balances over recent years under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, noting that the country now possesses a solid and resilient macroeconomic structure. He added that Egypt’s economic team—comprising ministers of finance, foreign trade, investment, industry, transport, and international cooperation—is highly competent, globally oriented, and closely aligned with cooperation efforts with Turkey.
The ambassador further emphasized that Turkish businesspeople consistently receive a positive reception from Egypt’s political authorities, and that doors remain open to them at all levels. He identified construction, energy, tourism, trade, and the broader economy as the most promising areas of cooperation between Turkey and Egypt in the coming period.
On tourism, Şen noted that the number of Turkish tourists visiting Egypt in 2025 is expected to approach 400,000, expressing confidence that it could easily rise to 500,000 in the following years. He also recalled that 350,000 Egyptian tourists visited Turkey in 2022, a figure he believes can be achieved again.
Concluding his remarks, Ambassador Şen announced that a major business forum will be organized as part of the upcoming visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Egypt in the coming days, describing it as the largest and most crowded Turkish delegation to visit Egypt to date.
The Alamein forum was more than a business meeting—it was a signal that when geography aligns with economic will, partnerships find their momentum and shape their shared future with confidence.
