Trade between Egypt and Turkey will not be affected by recent mass anti-government protests in Istanbul, according to statements released by the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce. Ahmed Wakil, head of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce, stated that all current deals and trade protocols existing between Egypt and Turkey would be unaffected by the protests, saying that Egyptian companies had begun logistical preparation to cooperate with representatives from Turkish and European companies to launch the new “Bridge" project between Egypt and the latter two. Wakil stated that what is being seen in Istanbul is “not merely protests", but confirmed that Egyptian companies will continue to adhere to all contracts signed with their Turkish counterparts. He added that Egypt's biggest exports to Turkey included manure, compost, sand, polyethylene, textiles, ready-made clothes, cotton yarn, salt and chemicals. Turkey's largest exports to Egypt meanwhile consist mostly of steel products, including rebar and various machineries, in addition to chemicals, textiles, automobiles and automobile parts, grain, electrical products, wood, cement, carpets, and dried and fresh fruits. Sharif Al-Alam, deputy director general of the Renault Automobile Company stated that the company has not been affected by protests in Turkey, saying however that local production rates could be affected if protests continued throughout the month. He added that according to deals struck between Renault and Turkey, customs duties on Renault vehicle imports to Egypt will continue to steadily decrease, eventually reaching zero by 2021, referring specifically to a deal signed in 2011 which stated that every year customs duties on 1600cc Renault vehicles will decrease 10%, decreasing 4% annually from their initial rate of 40%. This year such duties had already decreased from 36% to 32% he said. Hani Qasis, member of the Chemical and Fertilizers Export Council, affirmed the view that the Council's business with Turkey will not be affected by the current Istanbul protests. The council organises joint trips of Egyptian and Turkish businessmen to third party countries in order to search and study possibilities for joint cooperation in the international chemicals sector, in addition to launching marketing campaigns in Egypt and Turkey to promote their activities. According to statistics released from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, commercial exchange between Egypt and Turkey in 2011 totaled $4.2bn, with Turkish exports to the former totaling $3.98bn, and Egyptian exports to the latter making up the remaining $216.4m. This number reportedly increased to $5bn in 2012.
