8th Turkish-Arab Economy Forum held in Istanbul

The 8th Turkish-Arab Economy Forum was held Istanbul yesterday with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek. Speaking at the forum, Babacan said, "We need to support the free movement of goods, people, capital, energy and ideas." Babacan added that the free movement of ideas had already been fulfilled and the economy had to follow that now. For his part, Simsek said that free trade agreements should be signed in the region. Egyptian Investment Minister Usame Saleh also made a statement at the forum, urging Turkish businesspeople to invest in Egypt and saying that they are ready to give all sorts of support for them. President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Rifat Hisarciklioglu also underlined the importance of geographic cooperation, saying, "Geographic cooperation is important to benefit from the new energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean."