Representatives of Hungary and Turkey urged for cooperation between Hungarian and Turkish enterprises at the Hungarian-Turkish Business Forum on Thursday; they see especially good opportunities for joint action in Africa, where both countries wish to increase their presence.
The Forum was jointly organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Hungarian National Trading House and the Turkish Council on Foreign Relations.
Minister of State for Economic Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Levente Magyar told reporters that the parties will be launching a joint initiative to enable both countries to cooperate as closely as possible in Africa. Cultural and economic cooperation between Hungary and Turkey have been excellent for a very long time with significant increases not only in bilateral trade, but also in mutual foreign investment.
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Africa is looking forward to significant development and Turkey has more experience than anyone else in Africa. Their expansion there is exemplary and is something we can learn from, Mr. Magyar said, adding that the Government will be providing all possible support to facilitate the expansion of the activities of Hungarian enterprises in Africa.
In 2014, Turkey decided to develop its economic and trade relations with Africa, in which they are also strongly relying on the participation of Hungarian companies, Turkish Deputy Minister of Economy Fatih Metin explained.
Mr. Metin called Africa the home of unlimited opportunities with respect to investments. According to the Deputy Minister, many areas are in need of major development including agriculture, healthcare and education, for instance. Turkey currently has 39 embassies and 26 trade representations on the African continent, while Turkish Airlines operates daily flights to 48 cities in 31 African countries.
“We would like to further tighten economic cooperation with Hungary and raise it to a strategic level”, Mr. Metin said, adding that Turkey would like relations between the two countries to not be limited to foreign trade. It is worth exploring new opportunities for investment and Africa is an excellent choice in this respect, the Deputy Minister said, stressing that Hungary enjoys a special position in Turkey and is viewed as a friend.
On the subject of Turkey’s economic results, Mr. Metin said that Turkey is Europe’s 7th largest economy with a per capita GDP of 11 thousand US Dollars. The economy grew by 4.7 percent in 2014 and a further 3.4 percent in 2015. The country is also doing well with regard to foreign investment: while a total of 14 billion dollars in foreign investment was realised between 1984 and 2002, some 158 billion dollars in foreign investment has been injected into Turkey since 2003. There are some 43 thousand foreign companies currently operating in Turkey.
Turkish exports totalled 143 billion US Dollars in 2015 and the Government’s objective is to increase this sum to 500 million dollars by 2023.
At the event, Vice-President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ferenc Miklóssy conveyed the sympathy of the people of Hungary and Hungarian enterprises with respect to the recent terrorist attack in Ankara. Expressing his thanks, Mr. Metin said that terrorist attacks, which are aimed against the whole of humanity, would continue, but the world would not allow the forces of darkness to be victorious.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
