ISTANBUL

Turkish investments in Egypt reached nearly $3 billion, employing approximately 70,000 people directly and 100,000 indirectly, with an annual turnover of $1.5 billion, the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) top official said.

The trade volume between Türkiye and Egypt began to increase in 2007 with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, and it has now reached $10 billion, Mustafa Denizer, chairperson of the Türkiye-Egypt Business Council, an Istanbul-based organization that coordinates with Turkish private foreign investors and work under DEIK umbrella, told Anadolu.

Denizer emphasized the importance of trade relations between the two countries, hoping that trade volume could reach $15 billion to $20 billion in the next five years.

Turkish products have a positive image in Egypt owing to their high quality and widespread recognition of their brands.

However, he added that Egypt's current problem is a "shortage and bottleneck in foreign exchange reserves," which is why the country does not import "much" from Türkiye.

Denizer, however, expressed optimism that everything would return to normal following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Egypt.

Egypt’s current account surplus from energy should somehow be directed to Turkish products, as “the Egyptian industry needs a lot of intermediate goods,” he added.

Egypt requires "all kinds of goods that can enter the domestic market as finished products," he said, adding that there is "the potential to double" trade volume between Türkiye and Egypt.

Türkiye’s largest trade volume in Africa is with Egypt, Denizer said, adding that it is expected to increase gradually because “Egypt is a very big market with a population of 115 million.”

Exports in textile, apparel

Denizer noted that Türkiye's investment in Egypt is worth nearly $3 billion, and that "this directly provides around 70,000 jobs and indirectly provides around 100,000 employments."

“We get an annual turnover of 1.5 billion dollars from these investments. Exports from Egypt to third-party countries account for a significant portion of this… in other words, Turkish investments in Egypt have proven successful," he added.

He said Turkish businesspeople working with Egypt manage one-third of the country's total textile and apparel exports, and that it is gradually increasing as a result of investments in the sector and other sectors such as tourism, logistics, and retail.

Denizer stated that Egypt is nearly identical to Türkiye, a popular tourist destination and that both countries' people also enjoy travel and tourism.

"Egyptians love to spend money and shop here in Türkiye and Egyptian industrialists want to partner and cooperate with their Turkish counterparts for their know-how," he said.

Turkish Airlines has already increased flights to Egypt, with other airlines planning to follow, he said, adding that "the more flights there are, the more people are traveling to and from each other, either for tourism or trade, so, this is an indicator, and we will see that everything gets better."

*Writing by Emir Yildirim