Our Country’s Industrialists Do Great On The African Continent

The Türkiye-Africa 4th Business andEconomic Forum (TABEF) will be heldat the Istanbul Congress Centre onOctober 12-13, 2023

The real development of multilateral relations with Africa, with which our country has centuries- old historical ties, especially with the sub-Saharan region of the continent, is fairly new. The establishment of this strong partnership, especially in the last 20 years, is evident in rapidly increasing trade figures, numerous joint projects, including in the humanitarian field, mutual high-level visits, and the rapid expansion of contacts.

Bilateral trade between Türkiye and the continent reached USD 40.7 billion in 2022, up from USD 5.4 billion in 2003, while the value of construction projects undertaken by Turkish contractors across the continent rose to USD 85 billion. Even in sectors such as the steel industry, which require both technology and human resources and have high capital requirements and high barriers to entry, the distinguished industrialists of our country are carrying out great and sublime works across the African continent. Today, the market value of Turkish investments in Africa is over USD 6 billion and Turkish Airlines, our valued flag carrier, serves approximately 62 destinations in Africa. As impressive as these figures are, we aim to further advance the economic and trade partnership between Türkiye and Africa in a way that impacts the lives of every person on the continent.

TheTürkiye-Africa 4th Business and and Economic Forum (TABEF) will be held at the Istanbul Congress Centre on October 12-13, 2023, in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye and the African Union, under the organisation of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), with the presence of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, our President of the Republic of Türkiye, Azali Assoumani, the Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Union of Comoros, and Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat, our Minister of Trade.

Parties reached an agreement to focus on priority economic sectors of common interest with the aim of increasing the success of the Forum and the effectiveness of cooperation efforts in the near future. The main theme of the Forum will be “Addressing Challenges, Paving the Way for Opportunities: Building Stronger Türkiye-Africa Economic Partnerships”.

The Forum recognises the importance of overcoming challenges while identifying and capitalising on the numerous opportunities to build stronger economic partnerships between Türkiye and African countries. Under this theme, the Forum will lay the groundwork for the solution of problems to overcome obstacles such as trade barriers, infrastructure deficits, financing constraints, and legislative complexities that prevent the deeper realisation of Türkiye-Africa cooperation.

The 4th TABEF will offer an opportunity for a strategic exchange of ideas among the participants in order to promote increased trade, investment and cooperation. Following the thematic sessions of the Forum, bilateral business meetings (B2B) and Public-Private (B2G) Networking meetings will be organised with the aim of providing an opportunity to explore specific projects and discuss business opportunities. Our Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum (TABEF) event is open to all interested companies. Also, companies wishing to register should register on the official website of the event (http://tabef.org/tr/) according to their relevant sectors and contact our DEIK organisation team for other sponsor packages and booth information.

Coordinating Chairperson of DEİK/Türkiye-Africa Business Councils, Fuat TOSYALI