Trade and investments between Türkiye and South Africa are booming, with a surge in investments on both sides reported annually, Türkiye's ambassador to Pretoria said Monday.
"The total volume of Turkish investments in South Africa is $32 million (TL 996.4 million). In 2022, it was $31 million, which is an increase," Ayşegül Kandaş told an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) at her office in the South African capital, Pretoria.
She said South Africa's investments in Türkiye were $217 million in 2022, but the amount increased to $274 million by the end of 2023.
Kandaş said between 60 and 70 Turkish companies had set up businesses in South Africa, operating in various sectors, including textiles and food.
She said one of the biggest Turkish investors is Arçelik, a major small household appliances and white goods producer in Türkiye that owns the well-known South African appliance brand DEFY, generating jobs for 2,700 people and contributing to South African exports to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc of 16 countries.
Turkish defense giant Aselsan is another big investor that manages its sub-Saharan Africa operations through its subsidiary in South Africa.
She said Turkish entrepreneurs have also set up stores dealing in clothing, food, carpets and furniture.
Kandaş said over 65 South African companies are currently operating in Türkiye, the largest being Met Air.
She said the volume of trade between Türkiye and South Africa was $2 billion in 2021 and close to $3 billion in 2022 but decreased slightly in 2023 (over $1.95 billion), but they are working to increase it for the benefit of the two countries.
Diplomatic relations
Kandaş said last year, Türkiye's former Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited South Africa at the invitation of his counterpart Naledi Pandor.
Çavuşoğlu visited Cape Town to open the new Turkish Consulate General and also held political consultations with Pandor.
He also opened the Maarif Turkish Studies Center at the University of Pretoria.
Pandor also visited Türkiye for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in 2022, and she is expected to attend this year in March to speak at a panel. She is also scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Kandaş also said they expect President Cyril Ramaphosa to visit Türkiye, which follows President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's official visit to South Africa in 2018.
"We would like to hold the first meeting of the Binational Commission established between our countries in Türkiye, hopefully at the level of deputy president or president. This will propel our bilateral relations, which have flourished during the last two years since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic," she said.