TUMIAD – CAIRO 19 MAY 2012

FINAL  COMMUNIQUE

IX. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE TURKISH EGYPTIAN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

-Turkish -  Egyptian Business Association held its 9th annual General Assembly  in Cairo on 19 May 2012.

- The General Assembly listened to the report of the Chairman, thanked  President Zeki Ekinci and the Executive Board for their untiring efforts in representing  Turkish - Egyptian business  community’s  image and interests  throughout the historic  transition taking place  in the Arab Republic of Egypt since Tahrir Revolution in 2011.

-The General  Assembly welcomed that Turkish Egyptian bilateral trade increased by approximately 30% in 2011 exceeding,for the  first time in history, Four  billion Dollars.

-The members were particularly satisfied that Egypt’s exports to Turkey increased at a greater ratio, by more than 50%, during the same period, which indicated that there has been nett  liquidity transfers  from Turkish economy  to Egyptian economy during the past year, at a time when Egypt needed critical resources to overcome the bottlenecks.

-General Assembly also noted that, with  few exceptions due to  administrative hazards and  market fluctuations , overwhelming majority of Turkish investors remained in Egypt, maintained production, and Turkish factories were currently employing over 50.000 Egyptian workers contributing to stabilization and revival  of Egyptian economy through export oriented output.   

- The members  expressed their confidence and determination to continue supporting Egyptian economy  through its transition and engage counterparts in constructive dialogue and increase their investments when conditions permit.

-General Assembly renewed its  appreciation and  full confidence in the current TUMIAD Management  and wished  them continued success in their endeavors throughout the remaining part of their tenure until  its next session in 2013.

 - At the conclusion of the proceedings  it was unanimously agreed that TUMIAD:

                        Underlined  its conviction that  enhanced Turkish-Egyptian cooperation will promote peace, stability and development  in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa;

                        Emphasized that  effective cooperation  between Turkey and Egypt will  build confidence and convey  positive messages to regional and international  corporate sectors, banks and investors  towards expanding their  constructive engagement and cooperation;

Decided to convey  to the  Government and people of Egypt , its continuing  trust and readiness for multifaceted cooperation in all possible fields; accordingly stands ready to serve as a facilitater and work in harmony under the guidance of the Office of the Prime Minister of Egypt, Ministry of Trade and Industry, other related Ministries, GAFI, IDA, Provincial  Governorates and Municipalities, Federation of Chambers, Federation of Industries, Egyptian Business Associations, Business Development Agencies and other  affiliated institutions;

Reiterated  its solidarity with and  wishes of  success to  all authorities and people in the remaining phases  of Egypt’s democratic transition;

Expressed  its full commitment to realization of the economic objectives of expanding bilateral trade to 5 billion Dollars and volume of mutual investments also to 5 billion Dollars as declared by the Prime Ministers of Egypt and Turkey in September 2011;

Welcomed the establishment and activation  in April 2012 of the RoRo Transportation between Turkish port of Mersin and Egyptian Ports of Alexandria, Port Said and Suez which will increase commercial traffic between Northern and Southern shores of the Mediterranean  and bring the continents closer;

Declared that it stands ready  to step up its engagement and activities in the fields of  trade, industry, tourism,  engineering and other services,  i.e. transportation, civil aviation, energy, infrastructure, auto industries, machinery and spare parts, agriculture and food as may be needed by their government and private sector counterparts   towards speedy  recovery,  and sustainable  development of Egyptian economy; and

Renewed  its willingness to explore additional fields and norms of coopertion i.e. joint ventures in third countries in the Middle East, Africa and EuroAsia  expanding  current businesses  and building new bridges of partnership by mutually organizing business and investment delegations, joint workshops and conferences in Turkey and Egypt. Towards realization of  those goals, TUMIAD  announced its readiness to work with the Federation of Egyptian Chambers (FEDCOC), Turkish Union of Chambers (TOBB) , EBA, DEIK and other related institutions towards the establishment of Turkish Egyptian Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry.