Türkiye and Egypt on Tuesday agreed on a road map aimed at adding greater momentum to bilateral trade in the coming years, expanding efforts to facilitate rapid restoration of normal diplomatic relations.
The plan came as Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir Saleh arrived in Ankara on a two-day visit, marking the first such trip in a decade.
Just weeks earlier, Türkiye and Egypt appointed ambassadors to each other’s capitals for the first time in 10 years after countries moved to repair relations, which have been strained since a military coup in Egypt in 2013.
Normalization accelerated after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi shook hands in Doha at the World Cup in 2022 and gained further pace following the deadly February earthquakes in Türkiye and Erdoğan’s reelection in May.
Saleh's visit came upon the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Ömer Bolat. The two held talks on economic cooperation and trade in the capital Ankara. Accompanied by Egyptian businesspeople, Saleh met with executives of Turkish associations and businesses on Wednesday.
“We have created a road map for our mutual trade in the next five years. Within this framework, we have set a target of $15 billion (TL 404.55 billion) for mutual trade. We aim to reach this figure in a shorter time,” Bolat said after talks between the delegations.
The bilateral trade volume currently stood at around $10 billion in 2022, compared to $1.6 billion in 2007, when a free trade agreement between the two countries came into force.
Bolat said Egypt was Türkiye’s top trade partner in Africa, voicing what he said was great cooperation potential between the two countries.
The agreement on Tuesday also included pledges for supporting bilateral investments to ease conditions for investors. Various business events are also planned to be organized in the coming period, according to the Trade Ministry.
Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Egypt were maintained at the level of charge d'affaires on both sides since the 2013 military coup, which overthrew the late Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.
Cairo and Ankara have also been at odds over Libya, where they backed opposing factions in an unresolved conflict, and also over maritime borders in the gas-rich Eastern Mediterranean. However, Türkiye has dismissed claims of rivalry with Egypt in the region and reiterated its willingness for more cooperation.
Egypt, which has been struggling to manage an acute foreign currency shortage, said in March that Turkish companies had committed to $500 million in new investments in the country.
Bolat said Turkish businesspeople and industrialists did not leave even during Egypt’s most challenging times. He cited about $2 billion in investments in the country, which he said demonstrated Turkish businesspeople’s trust in Egypt’s qualified labor force and production capacity.
Turkish contractors have undertaken 27 projects worth about $1.2 billion in Egypt to date, according to the minister.
“I am pleased to state that our Turkish contractors are willing to do business with high quality, technically adequate and competitive prices in all infrastructure and superstructure projects that Egypt needs, including some ongoing megaprojects,” Bolat said.
Among others, he stressed further development of relations between Türkiye and Egypt would make a significant contribution to the solution of problems in the entire Mediterranean basin, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.
For his part, Saleh cited long historic links, as he pledged Egypt’s will to further develop economic and trade relations with Türkiye.
He said the two countries were determined to increase cooperation, investment and trade, recalling that the Egyptian government has taken measures to address the problems experienced by companies and facilitate visas.
Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, head of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), echoed Bolat’s view, saying billion-dollar investments demonstrated the business world’s trust in Egypt.
Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed the private sector’s will to take part in transportation and infrastructure projects, especially the railway. He said Turkish businesspeople in Egypt are having trouble finding qualified personnel and asked for convenience in granting residence permits to personnel.
The rapprochement with Egypt is part of Türkiye’s efforts to build bridges with countries in the region where Ankara has recently also repaired its ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Erdoğan has repeatedly said Türkiye hoped to maximize its cooperation with Egypt and Gulf nations "on a win-win basis," intensifying diplomacy after years of tensions.
