Türkiye-Egypt Business Forum opens closing session in Egyptian capital

CAIRO

The closing session of the Türkiye-Egypt Business Forum kicked off in Cairo on Wednesday, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the Egyptian capital for an official visit to the Arab country.

The Turkish president arrived in Cairo early Wednesday, where he was welcomed by his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Egypt’s state-run Extra News channel said the business forum’s closing session saw “broad participation from the business communities in both Egypt and Turkiye as well as financial and economic institutions in both countries.”

According to the channel, the session will discuss “opportunities for mutual investment, increasing trade exchange, signing new trade agreements, as well as supporting partnerships between the private sectors of the two countries.”

Erdogan and Sisi are scheduled to take part in the forum’s closing session later today, the channel said.

The forum’s first session was held in early February in the city of El Alamein on Egypt’s North Coast.

The forum is considered one of the largest business meetings ever held between Egypt and Türkiye, with around 200 executives and officials from Türkiye’s trade, industry, and stock exchange sectors, and more than 100 business representatives from Egypt.

Relations between Türkiye and Egypt have seen notable momentum in recent years, with bilateral trade volumes growing at an accelerating pace.

High-level visits and contacts between the two sides have recently contributed to the launch of several joint projects in the fields of trade, energy, defense, tourism, health, technology, and agriculture.

Trade volume between Türkiye and Egypt, which is Ankara’s largest trading partner in Africa, reached $8.8 billion in 2024. Türkiye’s exports to Egypt amounted to $4.2 billion, while imports stood at $4.6 billion.

Erdogan and Sisi have set a target of reaching a bilateral trade volume of $15 billion by 2028.

To achieve this goal, relevant ministries in both countries are intensifying efforts through a series of meetings aimed at developing practical plans to improve the investment environment in support of this ambition.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul