Upon arrival, El Khatib met with heads of major Turkish textile and garment companies, in a session organized by the Egyptian-Turkish Joint Business Council. Discussions focused on promising investment prospects in Egypt, particularly in high-value-added industrial sectors.
Executives from Turkish firms already operating in Egypt
expressed their desire to boost and expand investments. Their plans include
developing production lines, increasing output, potentially creating thousands
of jobs, and enhancing supply chain integration with expanded local sourcing in
the Egyptian market.
El Khatib lauded the Turkish companies' confidence,
asserting the Egyptian government's commitment to removing obstacles and
supporting projects that promote exports, job creation, and technology
transfer.
Investment Minister later met with Turkish Trade Minister Omar
Bolat. The two ministers agreed to intensify efforts to achieve the political
leadership's goal of raising bilateral trade volume from approximately $9 billion
in 2024 to $15 billion in the coming years. Trade reached about $4 billion in
the first half of 2025, with Egyptian exports accounting for $2 billion.
El Khatib urged a mutual agreement to alleviate restrictions
and protective measures on some Egyptian exports, emphasizing a commitment to
fair competition. He proposed holding the second session of the High-Level
Trade Consultation Mechanism in Egypt next December, on the sidelines of
Cairo's hosting of the D-8 Ministerial Meeting, to reach tangible understandings
for developing the existing Free Trade Agreement.
Welcoming the growth in Turkish investments, which reached $4
billion, El Khatib pointed to a decision by the Prime Minister to form a
special unit dedicated to resolving issues faced by Turkish investors,
reflecting Egypt's strong interest in these investments.
He also outlined Egyptian plans to modernize the business
environment, including reducing customs release time to two days by year-end
and aiming for a top-20 global ranking in commercial competitiveness indices by
2030.
In a separate meeting, El Khatib discussed cooperation with Sheikh
Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, Qatar's Minister of Commerce and
Industry. They covered preparations for organizing an Egyptian-Qatari Business
Forum in Cairo next December, featuring broad participation from major Qatari
companies.
El Khatib stressed the Egyptian government's support for Qatari investors and the provision of necessary facilitations for their expansion, especially in high-value-added production sectors, to foster economic integration between the two nations.