UPDATE - Turkish, African business people gather in Istanbul

UPDATES WİTH INTERVIEWS OF GAMBIAN AMBASSADOR, ETHIOPIAN COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE

By Alperen Aktas and Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Over 1,600 African business people from 54 countries gathered with Turkish producers at the 10th World Cooperation Industries Forum in Istanbul on Tuesday.

The two-day event aims to connect foreign business people directly with Turkish manufacturers.

Lamin Jammeh, the Gambian information minister, said the event is opening new doors for exporters.

Industry is still the driving force of the economy and the forum offers exporters new opportunities for cooperation and industry, he added.

Ozgur Volkan Agar, Türkiye's deputy trade minister, also said his country aims to improve economic and commercial relations with African countries, enable companies to establish new collaborations, and evaluate new business and investment opportunities.

"Our bilateral trade with the continent has expanded around five times in the last 20 years, reaching about $32 billion in 2023," he said.

He noted that the bilateral trade has increased by 26% to $3 billion in January.

"Our exports to the African continent increased approximately 12 times compared to 2002 and reached $21.3 billion in 2023," he said, adding that Africa's share in Türkiye's exports is 8.3%.

Gambian Ambassador Alkali Conteh told Anadolu that his country has bilateral trade and investment relations with Türkiye in numerous sectors, with Ankara supporting Gambian students by giving them scholarships.

"We have Turkish companies who have invested in major areas. One of them is private ferry operations. The other is looking into investing into building a container terminal, a container port, and a deep sea port," Conteh said.

He also noted that Gambia "is always supporting Turkish candidates" in the international community and in institutions where they may be seeking office.

Meanwhile, the head of the Ethiopian Community in Türkiye platform, Ibrahim Abdella said: "I believe that the advancement of these relationships between Türkiye and Ethiopia is particularly important for Ethiopians because compared to other countries, Ethiopia has a lot to learn from Türkiye in terms of trade."

Abdella emphasized the importance of relations between Ethiopia and Türkiye in commerce, education, and health care.

He called for an increase in healthcare relations, stating, "I had seen the Chinese hospital in Ethiopia. But Türkiye did not have a hospital there.

"If a Turkish hospital were to open there (in Ethiopia), it would be more beneficial in terms of cost and since the preference and priority would be for the Turkish hospital, the demand would be higher."

Abdella highlighted that Ethiopia had more of a "win-win" policy with Türkiye than with other countries.