Egypt PM meets with representatives of Turkish companies for first time in decade

Newspaper Title: english.ahram.org.eg

Newspaper Number:

Thursday - 16 February 2023

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met on Thursday with a delegation of 14 representatives of Turkish companies either operating in Egypt or planning to start new investments in the country, in the first such meeting in a decade amid recent thawing in relations between Cairo and Ankara.

Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir attended the meeting, which was held at the cabinet headquarters at the New Administrative Capital.

PM Madbouly said that “the message of the meeting is clear and important because it is a step towards stressing the importance of trade and economic relations between Egypt and Turkey.” 

During the meeting, the prime minister extended his sincere condolences to Turkey over the victims of the tragic earthquake, wishing speedy recovery to the injured and affirming Egypt's support for Turkey and its people in these difficult circumstances.

Madbouly stressed to the Turkish delegation that Egypt and Turkey enjoy historical relations, adding that “despite any political differences that have occurred during previous periods, we have been keen in Egypt to maintain the relationship between our [two] peoples, and to keep close cooperation in the economic and commercial fields."

He expressed appreciation to all the Turkish companies that have invested in Egypt over the past years.

Madbouly also welcomed new Turkish companies that intend to invest in Egypt, promising full support.

Turkish investments in Egypt

According to recent figures provided by the Commercial Counsellor of the Turkish Embassy in Cairo Atilla Yenigun, 200 Turkish companies are currently operating in Egypt with an investment volume of EGP 2 billion.

"We hope to increase the number of companies and the percentage of investments in the future, ” Yenigun said in remarks last year.

For their part, the 14-representative delegation expressed to PM Madbouly their gratitude for the full support Turkish investments receive in Egypt.

The delegation stressed that Turkish companies in Egypt have not faced any discrimination from the government based on nationality in the past 15 years.

It added that Turkish companies seek to benefit from Egypt’s strategic position as a trade and investment hub in Africa in light of its preferential trade agreements signed with African countries.

The delegation also reviewed during the meeting with Madbouly plans to increase their new investments by $500 million.

Egypt-Turkey: Thawing in relations

In November, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi agreed during a brief encounter in Qatar during World Cup to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and affirmed the deep historical relations binding the two countries and their peoples.

In media remarks made a few days after their encounter in Qatar, Erdoğan said he told President El-Sisi that he is keen to end the nine-year rupture between Turkey and Egypt and to avoid a problem between the two countries in the Mediterranean.

The Turkish president added that the process of building Egyptian-Turkish relations would start with ministerial-level talks, to be followed by a meeting with President El-Sisi.

Last Monday, immediately after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, President El-Sisi phoned his Turkish counterpar Erdogan to express condolences and sympathy over the victims of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday

On the following day, Egypt sent five military planes carrying emergency medical aid to Turkey and Syria to contribute to relief efforts.

In late November of last year, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu said that his country may re-appoint an ambassador to Egypt in the upcoming months.

In October, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry announced that the dialogue between Egypt and Turkey to normalise ties had come to a halt over Turkish actions in Libya.