The fifth joint meeting of the Arab and Turkish Chambers was held at the headquarters of the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce in Cairo, in the presence of the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir, President of the Union of Arab Chambers Samir Abdullah Nass, President of the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Ahmed Al Wakil, President of the Federation of Turkish Chambers and Exchanges Rifaat Oğlu, Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers Dr. Khaled Hanafi, and Secretary-General of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Dr. Alaa Ezz. In addition to a massive Arab and Turkish participation from the heads of chambers and federations of chambers, businessmen and investors from both sides.
At the opening of the meeting, the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Eng. Ahmed Samir, spoke about the importance of developing a mechanism to link the industries of the Arab countries and Turkey to achieve industrial integration to face global supply chain disruptions and raise the proportions of the Arab and Turkish local components to access the Arab, European, African, and international markets. Eng. Ahmed Samir stressed that the business community in the Arab countries and Turkey must benefit from the distinguished political relations to develop economic cooperation in the fields of industrialization. The subscriber and the integration of its inputs, the development of intra-regional trade, and the support of means of transport and logistics.
He pointed out that the Egyptian state seeks to overcome the repercussions of the recent global crises on the economy, through measures to facilitate the business climate, including the issuance of the golden license, facilitating land allocation, providing industrial and logistical zones, a privatization program, and a state-owned policy to not crowd out the private sector. He explained that the recent period witnessed great momentum in relations between Egypt and Turkey, which was demonstrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Egypt after several meetings with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The Minister called on the Arab and Turkish chambers to take advantage of the new opportunities presented by the Suez Canal axis, the golden license, and the state ownership policy, as the state will exit from many sectors within three years and will offer its investments in those sectors for partnership through multiple mechanisms. In addition to the opportunities that will be available through the stabilization of investments in other sectors, which will open the way for local, Arab, and foreign investment. He pointed out the necessity of working to establish industrial zones and joint logistics centers, and linking them in a way that is in the interest of manufacturing and exporting to markets exceeding 3 billion consumers without customs in the free trade zones available to Egypt and signed with various economic blocs around the world.
Samir Nass
For his part, President of the Union of Arab Chambers, Samir Abdullah Nass, stressed that Arab-Turkish economic relations are continuous and constantly progressing, and Turkey is considered a major economic partner for the Arab region, as the volume of intra-Arab-Turkish trade amounts to about 55 billion dollars. The volume of exports from the Turkish side is increasing annually by about 10 percent from the Arab region. In addition to the presence of direct and indirect Arab investments, which have increased significantly and accumulated in recent years, especially in the housing and real estate sectors, etc. This is in addition to the visit of more than 10 million Arab tourists to Turkey annually.
He said: It is true that these numbers are good, but this is not what we aspire to, and in my opinion, no change or development in the form of Arab-Turkish economic relations can occur except through the private sector. In this context, the Turkish private sector is always keen to enhance coordination and cooperation with the Union of Arab Chambers, which represents the Arab private sector on various occasions and circumstances. Hence, the time today is considered favorable for the development of Arab-Turkish economic relations so that they reach the desired and hoped-for reality.
He explained that although there are free trade agreements between Turkey and Arab countries, they are considered a necessity to strengthen economic relations. However, at the same time, we need and must work, seek, and aspire to build a stronger and larger strategic partnership. We also seek to be not only markets targeting each other, but also to be platforms and pivotal areas that benefit the Arab and Turkish parties. Today, there is a great opportunity in the current global circumstances, which we must seize to strengthen regional cooperation, where supply chains today are shorter than before. We are culturally and geographically closest to each other, and therefore we can change a lot in the pattern of our relationship. As Arab countries, we have keys in Africa, and we also have keys in Asia, and thus through Turkey we can access European markets, which contributes to a new combination of relations and strategic partnership that is the basis and not the simple trade exchange that exists at the present time.
He pointed out that we need to work not only in commodity trade but also exploit the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitization, by employing our youth energies from both sides significantly, in the presence of great economic diversification, which can lead to a change in the shape of Arab-Turkish economic relations.
Ahmed Al Wakeel
For his part, the President of the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Ahmed Al-Wakeel called at the beginning of his speech to stand a minute of silence in mourning for the souls of the innocent martyrs of our brothers in Gaza, appealing to the international community to immediately stop what is happening in Palestine.
He said: "We all met weeks ago in Mecca within the framework of the meetings of the Islamic Chamber, which is a vivid example of Arab-Turkish cooperation, as it is chaired by Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, and brings together all our countries." Today, we will discuss sharing industry, trade, agriculture, transport, logistics, services, energy, and other promising opportunities for all of us through trilateral cooperation.
Al-Wakeel stressed that Egypt today is a key axis in this cooperation, through the partnership of the government and the private sector, which opened its doors to our partners from different countries of the world, in all sectors. Of course, these doors are wide open to our brothers from the Arab world and Turkey. We have strived to develop our bilateral relations through fruitful cooperation between the federations of chambers in our countries, and we have succeeded in doubling our trade and investment exchange. Nevertheless, all this is a small drop in the sea of available and untapped opportunities.
He pointed out that our ports, logistics centers, industries, services, and production inputs must be integrated, to move from bilateral cooperation to trilateral cooperation. We must manufacture together and export to the markets of Africa, the European Union, and other free trade zones available to Egypt, which exceeds 3 billion consumers without customs and with a GDP of 45 percent, including manufacturing and packaging.
He said: We must take advantage of the facilitation agreement that brings us together to export together through transcontinental African routes such as Alexandria, Cape Town, Port Said, Dakar, and Safaga N'Djamena, which will open for all of us the markets of landlocked countries in Central Africa, and which integrate with the new Ro-Ro highways with the European Union from Damietta to Trieste, and soon from Mersin to Alexandria and Port Said, as they were previously as arteries for the development of all our exports.
He stressed that we must create strong alliances to implement infrastructure projects in Egypt and Africa, and to rebuild neighboring countries destroyed by wars and conflicts. We must also strive to achieve our food security by participating in a project to reclaim millions of acres and manufacture its products to increase added value and create job opportunities.
He continued: "Successive governments have made a clear effort to create a climate for the private sector to play its role in development, through a successful legislative and procedural revolution, and the provision of many incentives and facilitations. Therefore, we must take advantage of the promising investment opportunities offered by Egypt today in many major projects such as the Suez Canal axis, the reclamation of millions of acres, electricity, water, transport, and logistics projects, in addition to industrial, tourism, and real estate investment. This renaissance raised the efficiency of Egyptian companies in the fields of infrastructure, road and sanitation projects, and tourism real estate investment beyond Egypt’s borders. Today we see companies such as El Sewedy, Hassan Allam, Orascom, Petrojet, Enppi, and Arab Contractors spreading growth and development in the Gulf countries with investments that exceeded $3 billion and exceeded $10 billion in Africa, and they are all with us today.
Rifaat Oğlu
For his part, the head of the Federation of Turkish Chambers and Stock Exchanges, Rifat Oglu, condemned at the beginning of his speech the brutal and inhumane attacks carried out by Israel against innocent people in Gaza.
"The world is going through a difficult period. Growth in the global economy and the volume of world trade is slowing. Geopolitical risks and conflicts are also increasing. This suggests that 2024 is more challenging and uncertain than ever. We therefore need strong international cooperation and solidarity. As ancient peoples of this region, we must move together according to the advice "In unity is strength, and in separation is torment".
He pointed out that we must strengthen the private sector in our countries through concerted efforts. In our time, the power of states comes mainly from their private sectors. The strength and dynamism of Türkiye's economy also depend on the private sector. Thanks to this, we have become a leading country in industrial production and exports of industrial products between Italy and China. We are the largest manufacturers of cars, white electrical appliances, building materials, and clothing in many sectors, and we are the leading supplier of goods to Europe. We are the largest car supplier to the European Union after the European Union itself. We achieved all this through trade liberalization and increased competition. Because trade enriches and protectionism impoverishes. Especially for the stability and well-being of developing countries, trade should be freer.
He continued: We must all support free trade. After opening our doors to external competition and liberalizing trade, we are now the country that occupies first place between Italy and China in terms of industrial production. We export more than 12,600 industrial products, representing 94 percent of our annual exports worth $256 billion, to more than 200 countries. We also export 60 percent of our products to rich and developed markets in Europe. This indicates the quality of our products, their competitive prices, and consumers’ admiration for them. In addition, we are among the world's largest countries in construction, tourism, and agriculture.
He explained that our trade relations with Arab countries have developed in recent years. Turkey's exports to Arab countries were only $5 billion 20 years ago. It accounted for 10 percent of Turkey's exports. In 2023, it exceeded $45 billion and reached 20 percent of Turkey's total annual exports.
Khaled Hanafi
Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, stressed, "The importance of the role played by the strong Turkish private sector, as well as the Arab private sector, which leads the production and investment process and employs the largest percentage of the labor force in the Arab region."
He stressed, “Arab-Turkish economic relations are continuous and always progressing, as data shows that Turkey is a major economic partner for the Arab region. Hence, I see that no change or development in the form of Arab-Turkish economic relations can occur except through the private sector. In fact, the Turkish private sector, through the Chairman of the Turkish Chambers and Stock Exchanges, Mr. Rifat Hisarcioglu, is always keen to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the Union of Arab Chambers, which represents the Arab private sector, on various occasions and circumstances.”
The Secretary-General of the Union, Khaled Hanafi, said, “Governments open the doors to developing relations, but the one who passes through is the private sector.” Pointing out, “There are free trade agreements between Turkey and Arab countries, which are necessary to strengthen economic relations. Nevertheless, they are not sufficient, because today we need a change in the pattern of the relationship, as we should not only seek to raise the volume of trade by 20-30 percent, Or for the volume of trade exchange to reach the range of 70-80 billion dollars. Rather, we seek and aspire to build a stronger and larger strategic partnership. We also seek to not only be markets that target each other but rather to be platforms and pivotal areas that benefit both the Arab and Turkish parties.”
He believed, “There is a great opportunity in light of the current global circumstances, which may be viewed as bad. Rather, in our view, it is an important opportunity that we must seize in order to strengthen regional cooperation. Today's supply chains are shorter than before, and in this regard, we are considered the closest culturally and geographically to each other. Therefore, we can change a lot in the pattern of our relationship, and not just the size of our relationship, as we, as Arab countries, have keys in Africa, just as we have Arab keys in Asia. Thus, through Turkey, we can access European markets, which contributes to creating a new combination of relations and strategic partnership, which is the basis and not the simple trade exchange that exists at present.”
He noted, “We need more work, not only in goods trade, but also in a larger volume of services, and exploiting the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitalization, where we can greatly employ our youth energies on both sides. Since the Arab region is not economically homogeneous, there are great economic differences, and therefore it is necessary to deal with each country and region differently. This could lead to a major change in the form of Arab-Turkish economic relations, as we need to build a strategic alliance, and not develop the reality of trade in its current, classic, and simple form.”
Working Sessions and Recommendations
The meeting witnessed many sessions that dealt with various fields of economic cooperation between the Arab countries and Turkey. In addition to discussing ways to increase trade and investment exchange in various fields with a focus on integration in deepening industry, achieving food and water security, developing transport and logistics mechanisms, and tripartite cooperation, especially in the fields of industry and contracting. The fifth joint meeting of the Arab Chambers and the Turkish Chambers concluded with several recommendations, namely:
First: Calling for this meeting to be held on an annual and regular basis and for there to be a general secretariat that will follow up on the recommendations that come out and present them at the next meeting, which will be hosted by Turkey, with inter-sectoral meetings being held.
Second: Cooperation between the two sides to transfer distinguished experiences to the federations, including the establishment of technological universities, a strategic research center, and departments for the implementation of the TIR agreement.
Third: Presenting to the European Union a project for Arab-Turkish-European integration similar to the previous project EU Global Bridges to link European and Turkish companies with their counterparts in Egypt, Tunisia, and Palestine while increasing alliances that bring the two parties together to apply for EU programs in support of industry, trade and climate change.
Fourth: Accelerating the establishment of mechanisms that contribute to the development of trade and investment exchange between the two sides, such as the establishment of a platform adopted by the federations of chambers in which tenders, as well as investment and commercial opportunities, are presented.
Fifth: Emphasizing the need to develop economic cooperation in various fields, including joint industrialization, encouraging investments, developing intra-trade, agriculture and food processing, transport and logistics, tourism, and linking electricity, oil, and gas networks.
Sixth: Emphasizing the importance of participating in deepening the industry between the two sides by exchanging production components and requirements and seeking to manufacture them for those who have comparative advantages, and studying industrial integration between the two sides, especially in light of the European Union’s approval of the carbon emission tax, which will affect the growth of national exports.
Seventh: Emphasizing cooperation by establishing industrial zones and logistics centers, and linking them, to achieve joint manufacturing and joint export development.
Eighth: Stressing that trade cooperation between the two sides should not be limited to finished goods only, but should include industrial integration processes and production components and requirements, to confront the disruption of global supply chains and to raise the proportions of the local component to penetrate the Arab, African and international markets.
Ninth: The need for integration in land reclamation and food industries, especially with the challenges that appear from time to time from diseases, epidemics, climate change, and geopolitical conditions, to achieve agricultural and industrial self-sufficiency in the field of food security.
Tenth: Work to increase interest in joint investment in the pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies, joint approval of their products, as well as participation in research and development.
Eleventh: Inviting the chambers of commerce and its members from construction and contracting leaders from both sides to create strong alliances that work to implement infrastructure projects in Africa and reconstruct Arab countries.
Twelfth: Integration and cooperation between research and training centers, universities, and technological institutes, exchange of curricula that must be in line with the needs of the labor market, establishment of incubators and linking them virtually, and work in joint research and development.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
