JEDDAH, 18 May 2005 — Turkey has proposed to create an investment fund and a mechanism to operate it through the Internet for the benefit of its businessmen and their counterparts here.
Conveying the proposal at a meeting with Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman Dr. Ghassan Al-Sulaiman on Sunday, Tuncer Kayalar, undersecretary of foreign trade and chairman of the board of Turkish Eximbank and the Export Promotion Center of Turkey, said the idea was to create an electronic environment that would enable a direct link between the two business communities through the website.
“We proposed this to the JCCI chairman and the response was very positive,” said Kayalar, who is leading a 20-member Turkish sectoral delegation related to machines and machinery equipments.
We’re keen to expand our export of machines and machinery equipments to the Kingdom and that’s why we’re here within a month of our exclusive exhibition in the city, Kayalar told Arab news.
He said this was also a follow-up of the Saudi-Turkish Business Council meeting held in Istanbul last month where issues concerning avoidance of double taxation and protection and boosting of investment were discussed. We’re preparing the framework for two agreements and hope to discuss it further in the council’s next meeting set to take place in Riyadh, Kayalar said.
He pointed out that the current mission, organized by the Central Anatolian Exporters Union, which held its individual meetings with local businessmen in Jeddah during the day, was to increase Turkey’s export of machines and machinery equipments in particular to the Kingdom. This is because Turkey’s share in this sector in Saudi Arabia was a meager $38 million, as against the Kingdom’s annual $8 billion import of machines and machinery equipment from the world over.
The mission is also aimed to increase Turkey’s overall exports to Saudi Arabia, which currently amount to $760 million as against its imports totaling $1.2 billion from the Kingdom.