Turkish-Egyptian business forum held in Ankara

The Turkish-Egyptian Business Forum was held yesterday in Ankara, hosted by Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu and attended by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Egyptian Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed, Egyptian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf al-Arabi, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Hatem Saleh and President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Ahmed al-Wakeel, as well as representatives both from the Turkish and Egyptian business circles. Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Caglayan said that roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) services from Turkey's southern ports of Iskenderun and Mersin to Damietta in Egypt would commence soon. Stating that the bilateral trade volume hit $3.5 billion in the first eight months of 2012, Caglayan said that the figure may reach $10 billion in a short time. For his part, Morsi said proposed visa-free travel between Egypt and Turkey in order to ensure easier business relations. Morsi called on Turkish businesspeople to invest in Egypt, saying, "Egypt is a large market with a population of 90 million. Investments are guaranteed and the return is higher than other countries, because the cost of production is very low. We can produce, market and export together." Hisarciklioglu also made a speech on the sidelines of the forum, saying, "Our 50,000 Egyptian brothers are employed in more than 200 Turkish companies. Furthermore, Turkish contracting companies have completed 25 projects totaling approximately $600 million. They are currently working on a great many projects."