Our Chamber, continuing its initiatives to further improve our members in the field of exports, brought together our region's businesspeople with the investor delegation from Africa at the Africa Investors Forum held in Kapaklı.

The program was attended by the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Akoto Afriyie Awusu, our Chairman of the Board Ahmet Çetin, our Board Members, our Council Members, Industry and Technology Provincial Director Fahrettin Akçal, Mayor of Mirrah Municipality of the Republic of Niger Mr. Rabilou Halilou, the Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to Turkey, the Ambassador of the Republic of Togo to Turkey, the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and our region's businesspeople.

"A TRADE VOLUME OF $60 BILLION IN TEN YEARS"

Making the opening speech at the program, our Chairman Ahmet Çetin said, "Dear Minister, esteemed Mayors, Provincial Director of Industry and Technology, respected businesspeople, distinguished participants, Turkey has taken significant steps to increase intensive investment and trade partnerships with Africa for over 20 years. It attaches great importance to mutual protection of investments, from defense industry to energy production, from food to fertilizer production, from mining to energy transmission lines, both among official institutions and private sector representatives. So far, many agreements have been signed with many African countries under the leadership of our Presidency. In the upcoming period, our cooperation with African countries will continue to increase. In the meantime, I invite your esteemed participation to our fair to be held in September. Our common goal is for our mutual trade volume with African countries, currently at $30 billion, to reach $60 billion in the next year when the agreement comes into full effect."

"WE SHOULD CREATE COUNTRY-SPECIFIC PREDICTIONS AND NEW STRATEGIES"

Continuing his remarks, our Chairman Çetin said, "We should create country-specific predictions and new strategies for the possible effects of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement on Turkish companies. According to the data I have obtained, the continent has taken an important step towards increasing, encouraging, and expanding trade among its member countries, taking more protective measures at customs. We will see the results of this together. Our common goal should be to increase our country's mutual trade volume with Africa from the current $30 billion to $60 billion when the agreement comes into full effect next year."

"AGREEMENTS FOR THE RECIPROCAL PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF INVESTMENTS WITH AFRICAN COUNTRIES SHOULD RAPIDLY COME INTO EFFECT"

Emphasizing the need for stronger relations with Africa, our Chairman Ahmet Çetin said, "We are also working with different countries to work in collaboration with our country in the African continent to meet the demand for work from different countries. Japan, Germany, France, and Hungary are the most eager in this regard. Both the continent, our country, and those offering partnerships will have works that could be in favor of them. With Hungary and our country working together, a joint project in the field of health has already started in Ghana. It is also very important for Agreements for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (RPPPIs) to come into effect rapidly with African countries. Another area where we can develop another important partnership is with mutual agreements with Africa. It is very important that the negotiation process of agreements that are still ongoing is concluded as soon as possible and new ones are added. Turkey's sharing of know-how with Africa is also a separate field in itself, and we should focus more on this opportunity. Africa is undergoing a major commercial transformation, especially in areas such as industrialization, agriculture, construction, and textiles. At this point, we should be a friend and technical partner of Africa." he said.

B2B MEETINGS HELD

After the speeches of our Chairman Ahmet Çetin, Dr. Akoto Afriyie Awusu, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Ghana, made a speech emphasizing the trade agreements between the two countries and their importance for investors. After the speeches, very productive B2B meetings were held between the businesspeople of the two countries.

COMPANY VISITS TO BE MADE

In the coming days, the African delegation will also visit companies located in our region.