02 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye and Egypt have agreed to boost bilateral trade from $10 billion to $15 billion over the next five years, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said yesterday.
This came after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Samir Saleh, and the accompanying delegation in Ankara.
Speaking to reporters after the closed meeting, Bolat said there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries, noting that Egypt is Turkiye's leading trading partner in Africa.
Bolat explained that the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries entered into force in 2007 with bilateral trade volumes of $1.6 billion and reached $10 billion after 15 years.
Bolat said the FTA Joint Committee will meet in Ankara as soon as possible to discuss issues at the technical level.
The Turkish minister stressed that Turkish investments in Egypt have reached $2 billion.
The Turkish contracting companies have undertaken 27 projects worth $1.2 billion in Egypt to date and they wish to extend their work, he added.
Improvements in a Turkish-Egyptian ties "will contribute significantly to solving problems in the entire Mediterranean basin, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region," Bolat explained.
