Musiad President says Ethiopia is the future of Africa, encourages Turkish businessmen to tap opportunities

Addis Ababa, May 28, 2024 (FBC) – The Ethiopia-Turkiye Business and Investment Forum was held on May 27 at MÜSİAD Headquarters in Istanbul with the presence of TR Deputy Minister of Commerce Mustafa Tuzcu and State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Ambassador Misganu Arega.

At the forum, a business recruitment delegation of 63 people was hosted and B2B meetings were held to create new investments. Ethiopia’s commercial potential was discussed at the forum organized to establish commercial ties between the two countries.

Making a statement during the forum, MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmali stated that Africa is an important market for Turkiye.

Stating that they hosted nearly 300 businessmen at the summit, Asmali said, “Africa is an important market. It is a place where we are also interested. Today, we organized the Ethiopian Business Forum. Nearly 300 businessmen, about 70 of them from Ethiopia.” It is a country of 120 million people. In fact, it is a very large economy that will have a population of 3 billion in the future . We invite all businessmen to look at Africa, especially Ethiopia, with more interest. “We will hold our MÜSİAD Expo at the end of the year. Hopefully, we will be visiting both domestically and internationally. Maybe we can hold our MÜSİAD Expo in Ethiopia next year. I hope these business forums will lead to strong cooperation.”

Making evaluations about Turkiye’s exports with Ethiopia, President Mahmut Asmali said, “We have a very low positive trade volume in our favor. It is a little over 350 billion dollars. We have an export of approximately 30 billion dollars. Currently, it has decreased to the level of approximately 400 billion dollars. I believe that as we go back and forth and increase our cooperation, we will be able to increase our trade volume to 1 billion dollars and even higher in the following years. Today, there have been very productive developments and negotiations. As MÜSİAD, we have a representative office in Ethiopia. “We want to improve our relations with Turkey and especially with Ethiopia as MÜSİAD,” he said.

During a sideline meeting between Ethiopia’s State Minister Amb. Mesganu and Musiad president, the Turkish Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MUSIAD) agreed to boost Turkish investment flows to Ethiopia.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkiye Mustafa Tuzcu, speaking to the local media after the event, asserted that Ethiopia is one of the most important countries in his country’s Africa strategy.

Tuzcu said, “With a population of approximately 120 million people, Ethiopia provides great opportunities for Turkish investors and businessmen. When we look at our trade relations, there is only a trade volume of 435 million dollars. There was a great deal of interest in this forum today. Our companies talked about which sectors they could invest in, apart from partnerships in the Ethiopian market. We have seen that Turkish companies will make a great contribution to energy, mining, infrastructure works, residential road works and especially the further development of the country’s economy. Ethiopia is now Africa’s fastest growing economy, growing at an average annual rate of 7 percent. There are great opportunities for Turkish companies here. “We consulted once again today,” he said.

The Deputy Minister added, “The national income of the African continent is gradually increasing. The continent provides significant opportunities for all major players, especially regarding rare earths and minerals. We put trade with the African continent at the forefront of Türkiye’s economic relations. “Here, we increased our exports more than 10 times,” he said.

Stating that their approach to Ethiopia is parallel to their approach to Africa, he said, “We are working on projects where African and Turkish businessmen will gain together in this economic relationship.

“We will see in the coming days that our businessmen will realize the potential between the two countries, both in the field of construction and in exports, mainly in fields such as textile, steel and energy,” he said.