ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
Turkey’s Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MUSIAD) is finalizing preparations to open its branch office in Ethiopia to facilitate mutually beneficial relations between business enterprises of both nations, the association’s Ethiopia representative said.
Oguz Atik told Anadolu Agency that the opening of the MUSIAD’s Ethiopia office which is in "the process of attaining legal certification by local authorities" will enhance a two-way business interaction and transaction between Turkish and Ethiopian businessmen and industrialists.
"The office would primarily help Ethiopian businesses to be a member and access the benefits of MUSIAD, which is one of the world’s biggest association with more than 11,000 members in 98 different countries," he noted.
"Turkish businesses would also have an opportunity to do business with Ethiopian firms."
According to him, the association accepts only properly functioning and quality-oriented enterprises as to provide quality assurances and trustworthy business relations among members.
"We are confident that MUSIAD’s Ethiopia branch office would significantly improve the current level of business and investment between Turkey and Ethiopia," Atik noted.
Turkey's investments in Ethiopia currently stand at $2.5 billion. Annual bilateral trade between Turkey and Ethiopia is $650 million. Ethiopia exports agricultural products to Turkey while Turkey exports machinery, steel, and iron to Ethiopia. The governments of both countries have expressed readiness to increase the annual trade volume by $1 billion.
Pilot projects
As business and investment between Ethiopia and Turkey continues to grow, the need for business-to-business engagement has also been growing exponentially, Atik said.
"Due to this, as a pilot project, last month we took 24 Ethiopian businessmen to Ankara and our Ethiopian friends had a fruitful B2B engagement with the Turkish side," he said, adding that a group of well-established Turkish business delegation will visit Ethiopia this coming July.
"The delegation comprises 50 businessmen and industrialists representing Turkey’s four key industrial cities, Antalya, Konya, Kayseri, and Gaziantep," he said.
