A member of the Egyptian Association of Businessmen, Ahmed Al-Zayyat, said in an interview with Al-Arabiya that the economic era in Turkey after the presidential elections is very different.
Al-Zayyat added that Turkey’s current economic policy revolves around increasing foreign investments, especially with some pressure on the local currency.
He continued, “Turkey is trying to invest in foreign countries, especially the Gulf countries, specifically Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the last 5 years, has been able to be one of the best countries that attract foreign investments. Most of the world’s countries are trying to invest in Saudi Arabia as a result of the presence of a large number of huge projects. Therefore, in light of the pressures on the Turkish currency, the government is trying to create investment opportunities for Turkish companies and factories outside the country to support the currency through external cash flows.”
He added that the Kingdom is trying to boost its investments with Turkey, especially since Ankara has strong experience in the field of industry, real estate and electronic devices.
Today, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins a visit to Saudi Arabia, which is expected to boost the volume of trade between the two countries at a time when the two countries aim to increase the volume of exchange between them. The Saudi-Turkish Business Council meets on the sidelines of this visit.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today, Monday, that he will discuss during his visit to Saudi Arabia areas of investment, adding that “Saudi Arabia is one of the most important countries in the region,” according to what was reported by the Turkish “TRT” TV.
By last March, there were 1,140 Saudi companies investing in Turkey, and 390 Turkish companies investing in the Kingdom, and investments were concentrated in the sectors of construction, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and the restaurant sector.
The value of Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia during the first 4 months of this year amounted to about $781 million.
Last week, the Saudi-Turkish Business Forum was held in Istanbul, where 16 cooperation agreements were signed between the Saudi side and Turkish companies in the fields of real estate development, construction, engineering consultancy and a number of other investment sectors, with a value exceeding 2.3 billion riyals.
With regard to the future of monetary policy in Turkey, Al-Zayyat indicated that the Turkish Central Bank currently has some political independence, as the Central Bank was able to raise interest rates from 8.5% to 15% in the last meeting, despite the Turkish president’s objection to using the high interest rate to reduce inflation, which reached record levels.
He explained that the Turkish Central Bank is trying to separate between fiscal and monetary policy in general, “The markets are waiting for more positive steps, with regard to monetary policy, but, as an initial start, it is considered sufficient.”
