Ahmed Samir, the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, and Omar Bilalat, the Turkish Minister of Trade, met in Ankara today to discuss ways to enhance bilateral economic relations. This came on the sidelines of Samir's visit to Ankara from 1-3 August, which marked the first visit of an Egyptian Trade Minister to Türkiye in a decade. The ministers agreed on a roadmap to increase bilateral trade from $10bn to $15bn within five years. They also agreed to hold a meeting of the joint committee in the near future to expand the coverage of the existing free trade agreement between the two countries. The ministers agreed to establish close cooperation to provide the necessary facilities for investors in order to increase mutual investments. They also agreed to intensify joint events through organizations that bring together business circles from both countries, in addition to encouraging companies to participate in business forums and exhibitions organized in both countries. In light of current global trends, the ministers decided to explore the possibility of using local currencies in bilateral trade in the near future. They also agreed to hold a meeting within the framework of the high-level trade consultations mechanism during the upcoming visit of Omar Bilalat to Egypt at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart. The ministers held an expanded meeting with representatives of the business community from both countries to convey their views and evaluations on the development of trade and economic relations between Egypt and Türkiye. Egypt and Türkiye appointed ambassadors to each other's countries on July 4, 2023, in a move to restore full diplomatic relations. Despite the frosty diplomatic relations, trade between Türkiye and Egypt has remained strong. In 2022, Türkiye was the largest importer of Egyptian products, with a total value of $4bn. The trade exchange between Türkiye and Egypt stands at around $9.2bn, inclusive of energy.
