Egyptian-Turkish trade exchange expected to hit $ one billion next year

Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed left Ankara Thursday wrapping up a three-day official visit to Turkey during which he held talks with senior Turkish officials on means of boosting bilateral ties in the economic domain.

Both the Egyptian minister and Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding on talks which the two sides held in Ankara and Istanbul over the past two days. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Tuzmen said a delegation of Turkish experts is due in Cairo in May for talks with Egyptian officials in preparation for inking an agreement on setting up an Egyptian-Turkish free-trade zone. The two ministers also voiced hope the talks would help conclude a final framework agreement in this regard.

The Turkish Minister said he will pay a visit to Egypt in June to sign the agreement with Egyptian officials. The agreement aims at upping the volume of trade to one billion U.S. dollars next year and investment between Turkey and Egypt, he added.

Rasheed and Tuzmen announced at a meeting in Istanbul Thursday with members of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and the Turkish Council on Foreign Relations the formation of an Egyptian-Turkish working team to probe the possibility of exchanging expertise in the textile industry domain, in view of Turkey's success in this regard.

The team is to group government officials and private sector representatives from both countries, especially those concerned with the textile and ready-made clothes industries. On Wednesday, Rasheed met with Turkish Deputy Premier Abdullatif Sener and Turkish Minister of Finance Kemal Unakitan, along with other Turkish officials.

Rasheed in a meeting with the Egyptian businessmen delegation, who accompanied him during the trip, said the two sides had agreed to initiate a maritime line between Egyptian and Turkish harbours to transport passengers and goods.