A group of experts told RT about Turkey’s investment steps in Egypt for the first time in 10 years after the meeting between Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli and Turkish businessmen.
Egyptian expert and economic analyst Karam Saad said in a statement to RT that the current visit of a Turkish delegation to Egypt is not the first in the last ten years, explaining that Turkish commercial delegations came to Egypt in 2016 and 2018. and last year, an economic delegation from Egypt visited Egyptian businessmen in Ankara to discuss trade relations between the two countries.
Saad added that trade and economic relations between Cairo and Ankara were not affected by political tensions between the two countries that erupted in 2013, stressing that both sides are interested in further strengthening economic relations.
The economist said that the volume of trade between Egypt and Turkey was about $3.5 billion in 2013, and now it has reached $5.5 billion, which indicates a clear desire on both sides to neutralize trade and economic relations with political differences.
He added that today, with the development of political relations and Turkey’s positive statements towards Egypt, the then Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi shook hands with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Doha at the end of last year, after which Egypt sent urgent assistance to Turkey to help those affected by the devastating earthquake, and finally a phone call. Recently, between the Egyptian and Turkish leaders, these issues have stirred up many stagnant waters in the sea of Egyptian-Turkish relations.
The economist stressed that there could be a qualitative leap in relations in the medium term, especially since there is a desire to resolve contentious issues such as the Brotherhood, whose case is no longer a current card for Egypt or a winning card for the Turkish regime. , as well as the file “Eastern Mediterranean”, since Egypt did not carry in this file of landmarks Hostility towards Turkey. When Egypt drew its maritime borders with Greece, it took into account Turkish maritime interests and considerations.
He explained that Egypt’s position in the eastern Mediterranean lies in the existing alliance with Cyprus and Greece, in which there has been a quantum leap, in which Egypt sees Cyprus and Greece as strategic allies, and Egypt supports its allies, but despite this, there are no contentious issues. . between Cairo and Ankara in the eastern Mediterranean.
Saad added that the Libyan issue is the biggest problem in relations between the two countries, which worries the relationship between them.
Saad ended his speech by saying: “There is a constant desire to develop trade relations between the two countries, and evidence of this is the increasing development of the volume of trade exchange, the increase in Turkish investment in Egypt, which is approaching $ 2 billion. Turkish investment in Egypt after pumping new investments after the announcement about pumping Businessmen left for new investments in the Egyptian market.
Researcher Muhammad Rabih Al-Dakhi: The interests of the two countries will coincide in many respects in the near future
For his part, Turkish affairs researcher Mohamed Rabih Al-Dakhi stated that since the June 2013 revolution, Egyptian-Turkish relations at the political level have witnessed serious tensions as a result of the policies of the Turkish regime, which support the Brotherhood and ensure stability in Egypt or at the economic level. Egyptian-Turkish relations have not suffered much since the two countries are bound by a free trade agreement between Egypt and Turkey in 2005 and it came into effect in 2007. .
In RT statements, he explained that despite the political crisis between the two countries, trade relations between them have recovered significantly. There is no doubt that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s meeting with Erdogan in Qatar was a clear indication that relations between the two countries will enter a new phase of rapprochement, especially as the Turkish side seeks to pacify Cairo and fulfill Egypt’s demands. by stopping interference in the affairs of the Arab countries, which seemed obvious. In the Libyan crisis, for example, through the 5 + 5 military committee, reaching an agreement leading to the withdrawal of mercenaries from Libya, which is a new breakthrough to the Libyan crisis.
He noted that in terms of the visit of delegations of Turkish businessmen to Egypt and the desire to invest in Cairo, there is no doubt that this is another sign that the interests between the two countries will largely coincide in the coming period, in addition to the fact that these investments is only a new beginning and deepening of relations between the two countries. More precisely, in addition to this, the Egyptian infrastructure is now more ready to accept foreign investment in many sectors, and to a large extent not only Turkish investment.
Turkish affairs researcher Mustafa Salah:
Turkish affairs researcher Mustafa Salah confirmed that there was no economic gap prior to her return as the file exists despite political differences between the two countries, but the growing trend towards strengthening these ties is due to a number of variables. the influx of investments to and from the two countries, and the second is the negative impact of earthquakes in the regions in southern Turkey, which give about 10% of the gross domestic product, and therefore these companies are looking for ancillary work and investment environment, especially since most of these companies already have investment in different regions of Egypt and want to expand.
In statements to RT, he said that this activity would have positive consequences for the course of the intra-Turkish situation in terms of accelerating the Turkish truce with Egypt, as well as the countries of the region, especially the large ones. In addition, these steps by Turkish businessmen are of great importance for the Egyptian economy, given that Cairo is seeking to attract foreign investment to solve domestic problems, which will have positive consequences for Ankara’s Cairo vision in other aspects, which will consistently manifest itself in other regions. and international files.
Source: RT
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