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Türkiye, Egypt targeting $15B trade volume with new cooperation

05:1531/01/2025, Friday
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Representatives from Turkish auto sector to visit Egypt for talks on 100th anniversary of trade relations between 2 countries

Türkiye and Egypt are targeting $15 billion in trade volume with recent developments between the two countries' political and diplomatic communities, as economic and business activities are on the rise with more and more mutual visits.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi exchanged visits last year, creating new opportunities for cooperation.

The two countries also signed deals in many fields including education, transportation, agriculture, industry, energy and health during the meetings. Erdogan said at the time that trade and economy make up the driving force of Turkish-Egyptian cooperation.

Visits by Turkish delegations from all sectors to Egypt will be organized this year.

A general trade delegation from Türkiye is currently evaluating new opportunities for cooperation in Egypt, with the business meetings set to end Thursday.

A delegation of Turkish auto industry representatives will visit Cairo on Feb. 3-7 to discuss cooperation opportunities with Egyptian auto importers, wholesalers and distributors. - Türkiye-Egypt trade volume exceeds $8.6B, Turkish investments reach $3.5B

The trade volume between Türkiye and Egypt was a little over $7.1 billion in 2022, though it fell to $7 billion in 2023 and rose to $8.6 billion in 2024 due to increased bilateral visits.

The presidents of the two countries discussed increasing the trade volume to $15 billion.

Mustafa Denizer, president of the Turkish-Egyptian Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), told Anadolu that Turkish companies' interest in Egypt soared in recent years.

“Turkish investments in Egypt reached $3.5 billion, and a minimum of $500 million in new investments are planned this year and in 2026,” he said.

Denizer said these investments, concentrated in the textile and apparel sectors, are mostly due to companies in Egypt boosting their capabilities.

He said Turkish investments were also focused on the kitchen appliance sector and the tourism, retail and plastic industries of Egypt, which employ 100,000 people.

“We're planning forum and roundtable discussions with new visits, and while the exact dates of these are unclear, we expect at least five to six meetings this year,” he said.

“If Egypt were to take affirmative action regarding Türkiye, the $15 billion trade volume target would be easily reached, though it is important that there are industrial exports from both sides, as the two countries place significance on that—in a slightly longer period, even $20 billion could be a target,” he added.

Osman Evren Arikan, country representative of Egypt at the World Turkish Business Council (DTIK), told Anadolu that the potential for trade and industrial cooperation is high, with trade between the two countries continuing independently from political relations in the last decade.

Arikan said the positive mutual sentiment of the Turkish and Egyptian governments gave confidence to the business communities of the two countries and paved the way for new trade partnerships.

“Turkish exports deem Egypt a market, a production base, and a gateway to the rest of the African market,” he said.

He said Egypt is an expansion base for the Turkish industry and they should benefit from this by starting production in Egypt to gain an edge against the competition.

Arikan highlighted that this year marks the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Egypt, an opportunity to further increase economic cooperation.

“As the foreign currency problem of Egypt eases, we expect more Egyptian businesspeople to visit Türkiye at investment summits and sectoral meetings,” he said.

“Joint cultural and economic projects this year could strengthen trade relations between the two countries,” he added.

Adel El-Lamei, co-chairman of the Egyptian-Turkish Business Council, told Anadolu that the mutual visits of the Turkish and Egyptian presidents played a key role in revitalizing political relations and positively impacted trade relations.

El-Lamei said that mutual investments increased, especially in the textile, apparel and metal sectors.

“I expect 2025 to be a golden year for economic and trade relations between Türkiye and Egypt, evident from the Turkish delegation hosted in Egypt,” he said.

“Egypt and Türkiye aim for $15 billion in trade volume, and the competitive price advantages of the Turkish industry play a key role in the Egyptian market. This goal is expected to be reached with the guidance of our leaders in the coming period,” he added.

#Egypt
#trade
#Türkiye
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