Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit called for enhancing Arab-Turkish economic cooperation to “exceed the scope of trade exchange to broader horizons that serve the path of economic development and sustainable development on both sides.”
Aboul Gheit said in a speech he delivered today, Thursday, during his participation in the 15th session of the Turkish-Arab Economic Forum, which was launched in Istanbul under the title “Turkey and the Arab World… A Global Corridor for Investment, Trade and Technology”: “This forum represents a unique opportunity for dialogue that brings together Arab and Turkish politicians, economists, businessmen and investors, and leaders of Arab chambers and their unions to discuss regional and global economic challenges that directly affect the economic prosperity of Arab countries and Turkey.”
He added: “In addition to trying to explore new opportunities in emerging sectors such as green energy, technology and financial technology, and taking advantage of the s
trategic location of our region as an important economic bridge between Asia, Europe and Africa.”
He explained that the relationship between Arab countries and Turkey is characterized by historical depth that created a common heritage and values between the two parties. However, a number of challenges prevented the maximum benefit from these clear commonalities to build a new phase of partnership.
He pointed out that the forum will represent a real opportunity to talk about a more effective partnership between the Arab and Turkish sides, and will pave the way for the exchange of experiences and best practices, which will establish close and extended cooperation in various and diverse economic and development projects that achieve the goals of the Arab and Turkish sides.
He stressed that “the Arab region still needs to acquire and transfer new experiences in a number of fields related to how to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions: economic, social and environmental, and Turkey can benefi
t from the promising potential in many Arab countries.”
He stressed that recent years have witnessed a good boom in trade relations between the Arab world and Turkey, which must be built upon and expanded.
Aboul Gheit said: “In 2022, for example, Turkey’s total exports to Arab countries amounted to about $46 billion, while Arab-Turkish exports amounted to about $36 billion, representing about 18 percent of Turkey’s total exports and 10 percent of its imports, which reflects the growing importance of the two parties in their trade systems.”
He added: “Arab-Turkish economic cooperation must go beyond the scope of trade exchange – despite its importance – to broader horizons that serve the path of economic development and sustainable development on both sides. I imagine that this cooperation will include the fields of infrastructure, and both sides have important expertise and experiences in this field in particular, in addition to capacity building in the fields of clean energy and green technology. Also in
the services sector, especially tourism, financial and digital technology, in addition to cooperation in the field of cooperation, scientific research and innovation, on economic foundations and with the aim of achieving profit for both sides.”
He continued: “While we look forward to this qualitative development in various areas of cooperation, it is important to give priority to concluding free trade agreements as soon as possible, as these agreements will help enhance trade flows and support areas of mutual investment between the two sides.” He expressed his confidence “that the work of this forum will yield important results and that this high-level gathering of officials and experts is able to find effective mechanisms to implement the recommendations that will emerge from the forum so that we can achieve what we all aspire to in terms of progress, prosperity and a positive and effective partnership between the Arab and Turkish sides.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency