JEDDAH, 19 May — Turkey is working toward holding its eighth session of the joint economic commission with the Kingdom.
“The seventh session was held in Istanbul in May 2000. The next one will take place in Riyadh,” Ozkan Aydin, commercial attache at the Turkish Consulate General, told Arab News yesterday.
“We’re also ready to host a Saudi trade mission to Turkey after the successful visit of a 25-member group from the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry in April 2000,” he added, during the inauguration of a Turkish Export Catalog Show at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI).
Turkey’s growing prowess in auto spare parts, textiles, electronics, heavy machinery, construction materials, food and other engineering and consumer goods was in evidence when the show, comprising catalogues of 450 companies, opened for a two-day run.
Turkekul Kurttekin, former Turkish Ambassador to the Kingdom and director general of the Middle East countries in the Foreign Ministry, opened the show with JCCI Secretary-General Dr. Majed A. Al-Kasabi.
Aydin added that the show was aimed at introducing Turkish companies and their products to the potentially rich Saudi market. “We also aim at further boosting bilateral trade, which has maintained steady growth over the years. Our annual exports to the Kingdom have increased to $500 million, from $350 million in 1999. Our oil imports from the Kingdom were about $900 million in 2001,” he said, adding that there was tremendous scope for expanding the bilateral trade.
The show will move to Riyadh, where it will be inaugurated by Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman Abdurrahman A. Al-Jeraisy and Turkish Ambassador Osman Durak at the chamber’s premises at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Saudi businessmen will have the chance to access the embassy’s trade directories, including over 20,000 Turkish exporters in all sectors, during its two-day run. The show will then move to Bahrain for three days, from May 26.
