Turkey’s Ambassador to Egypt

Wagdy Abdel Aziz

The Turkish Embassy in Cairo held its annual consultative meeting with Turkish companies that have investments in Egypt or that have started or are planning to invest in Egypt at the Turkish Embassy headquarters.

The consultative meeting was attended by business owners and senior executives representing about 50 Turkish companies.

During the meeting, Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen, Turkey’s Ambassador to Egypt, pointed out that the most important link between Turkey and Egypt, which is the backbone of relations, is trade and economic cooperation.

He pointed out that Turkey remains the most important leading partner in Egypt’s foreign trade and that mutual investments are becoming increasingly prominent in these relations.

Ambassador Şen pointed out that the visit of President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Cairo on February 14 and the visit of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to Ankara on September 4 created a consensus on encouraging and supporting mutual investments.

Ambassador Şen stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed the investments of Turkish companies in Egypt.

Ambassador Shen stated that Turkish companies have started to show more intense interest in investing in Egypt since 2023, benefiting from the positive developments witnessed in relations between Turkey and Egypt in the past year. More than 100 Turkish companies have applied to the Commercial Attaché Office at the Embassy during the past year to obtain information about the investment environment in Egypt.

Ambassador Shen stated that some of these 100 companies have established their companies in Egypt and some have started investing in Egypt.

Ambassador Shen pointed out that during the past year there were many individual and group trade delegations and trade visits to Egypt, and that many investors had come to the embassy and received advice at the highest levels.

He pointed out that in the past period, Ambassador Saleh Mutlu Shen, along with the trade advisors, held a comprehensive meeting with the Association of Independent Industrialists and Businessmen to assess the trade and investment environment in Egypt.

Ambassador Saleh Mutlu Shen added that the development moves, especially the infrastructure investments initiated by President Sisi within the framework of Vision 2030, have yielded results, and Egypt has achieved significant progress in terms of transportation infrastructure.

Ambassador Shen continued by saying that Egypt offers a great opportunity in terms of ports and infrastructure, especially for Turkish companies working in the field of export.

He also explained that the railway infrastructure in Egypt is being rapidly modernized, and new lines are being established, including high-speed trains, in addition to the low energy costs in Egypt and the skilled labor force for Turkish investments.

He stated that Egypt still offers great advantages and attractiveness to Turkish investors with its free trade network with Europe, America, Arab and African countries.

In this context, he pointed out that Turkish companies are accelerating the pace of expanding their current investments in existing investing companies.

During the past three months, two separate Turkish companies announced the construction of two new factories in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, to be completed within a year at the latest.

He said that the total value of these two investments exceeds $100 million and will provide job opportunities for approximately 10,000 people. ‎

Ambassador Shen also mentioned that most of the current investors are in the process of expanding their businesses, explaining that the Egyptian authorities continue to improve the investment environment whether through economic regulations, economic reforms and institutional reforms.‎

He said that in the coming period in particular, with the contributions of Turkish companies, significant improvements and opportunities will appear in the sub-infrastructure of industrial zones in Egypt.‎

Ambassador Shen stressed that the embassy is committed to supporting Turkish investors in Egypt in order to expand, grow and make new investments in Egypt based on a win-win approach and in order to maintain their competitive position in the world.‎

He stated that the embassy continues to welcome and support their investments in order to enter the markets.‎

In this context, Ambassador Shen stressed the need for Turkish companies and investors to attach importance to consultation and coordination with the embassy.‎

Ambassador Shen also thanked the governors, central authorities and ministries for opening their doors to Turkish investors and companies and meeting with them at the highest level or supporting them.‎ ‎

During the meeting, Turkish investors provided information about their activities in Egypt and their new plans, and expressed their appreciation for the contacts made by the embassy with the Egyptian authorities to solve the problems they faced in some cases and the interest shown by the Egyptian authorities in solving their problems.‎

The representatives of the companies stated that their companies will continue to work mainly on exports and that expansion and growth plans in Egypt will continue in light of the advantages enjoyed by Egypt, in terms of cost, strategic and logistical advantages, and they expressed their confidence in Egypt’s promising future.‎

The legal advisor of the embassy, ​​Egyptian lawyer Mohamed Nasser, answered the investors’ questions on various legal and administrative issues and expressed their readiness to support them at all times.

In his closing remarks, Ambassador Shen stated that a business forum will be organized in Egypt in the future.

He pointed out that this forum will contribute to accelerating trade and economic cooperation between the two countries again at the level of leaders.

He also pointed out that there are many international meetings and contacts of a trade and economic nature on the agenda in December.

Ambassador Salih Mutlu Shen pointed out that President Sisi stated that trade and economic cooperation constitutes the backbone of relations between Turkey and Egypt, and that an example has been tried that illustrates the importance of these works for both Turkey and Egypt recently.

The meeting was attended by Osman Arıkan, Egypt’s representative in the Turkish World Business Council, and officials from the Turkish-Egyptian Business Council and the Turkish-Egyptian Businessmen Association.

The meeting was also attended by the head of the Egyptian side of the Turkish-Egyptian Council, Adel El-Lami, who is the honorary consul in Port Said.

The general manager of Polaris Company also made statements during the meeting, explaining that in addition to the three current free industrial zones, there will be some additional projects and that we are working on establishing free zones.

He added that the company wants to develop an export-oriented growth model for the Egyptian economy, with their approach as a private sector inspired by Turkey’s experiences.

He also mentioned that the industrial zones they have established provide infrastructure opportunities for Turkish investors and investors from all over the world, and that these are the goals for which he is presenting the infrastructure opportunities.

Mr. Hassan, the representative of the Turkish company Sharbaty, said that as a company they will expand the new capacity and open new factories very soon, and he also mentioned that they want to support factories in the field of construction with prefabricated buildings.

The ambassador pointed out that five businessmen from Turkey attended the meeting held by Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with 22 businessmen from all over the world yesterday.

He mentioned that this matter shows the importance that Egypt attaches to economic cooperation with Turkey, especially with Mr. President.

Among the companies that participated in the meeting from Turkey are the Chairman of Jade Tekstil, the General Manager in Egypt of Beko, Mr. Emre Erciyes, the Chairman of Erciyes, Bardo Porcelain, and the owner of Sharbaty.

Thus, five Turkish businessmen participated in the meeting, to which 22 business owners were invited.

This shows the strength of the economic and commercial business between the two countries.

On the other hand, Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen, in response to a question from journalists, stressed that the trade volume between Turkey and Egypt will reach $ 15 billion in five years, adding that this goal is realistic.

He also stated that he personally sees that this figure can be increased to $ 20 billion in ten years.

In response to the question, he stated that DeFacto, BIM, Colins and LC Waikiki companies are still operating as a commercial chain in Egypt, and that they offer Turkish products with Turkish quality and Turkish service quality. He also stated that Turkish brands such as İPEKYOL, Penti, Karaca and Zen are present and have entered the market, and they are world-famous in the field of culinary arts. He stated that in addition to the prestigious Burak store in Egypt, the CZN Burak restaurant, as well as the industrial restaurant, have moved to Fatih and Turkish brands will continue to enter the market.

He also pointed out that there is an investment from Egypt in Turkey, taking into account the social and cultural harmony and rapprochement between the two countries. He stated that one of the companies is currently working in the metal packaging sector, and stated that the Egyptian company is continuing to work, and another large company said that the Egyptian group has completed its investment, and he did not provide detailed information about this company, but he stated that it is a large investment. He also stated that he believes that in the coming period, the main tourism entrepreneurs in Egypt will expand in Türkiye if they find an opportunity there.