29 March - 4 April 2001
Issue No.527
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 29 March - 4 April 2001 Issue No.527 |
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Turkish overtures
Turkey is inviting Egypt to take part in its promising efforts for economic progress. High-level Turkish officials speak to Eman Youssef of multiple initiatives for investment and trade
Turkey and Egypt, two countries of the Middle East region which are almost in the same developmental stage, could make use of each other's expertise in advancing their respective economies.
(L-R) Turkish minister of communication and transport, Chairman of Turk Telecom, senior embassy official, Turkish embassador
On a visit to Cairo to attend the "IT and the Arab World" conference last week, Turkish minister of transport and communications, Enis Oksuz, highlighted the various fields of cooperation that Egypt and Turkey could successfully engage in.
For one, the Turkish experience can help Egypt in its endeavour to promote its IT sector, he said. This stems from the fact that Turkey's patterns of privatisation have been similar to Egypt's. The Turkish private sector owns 50 per cent of its telecommunications projects and is responsible for 80 per cent of Internet services out of a total number of users of some 35 million, Oksuz said. Three companies provide GSM mobile services to 18 million users. "These companies can offer Egypt the needed technologies to expand its networks," Oksuz said.
Attesting to Turkey's competitive edge in manufacturing telecommunication technologies, there are currently five Turkish companies exporting fiber optics. Turkish satellite stations are already making their mark in Europe, said Oksuz, suggesting that Egypt can show its programmes in Europe and Asia via Turkish satellite, in addition to being able to receive broadcasts from many destinations.
The Egyptian and Turkish governments are discussing several projects involving technology transfer, Ibrahim Alpturk, chairman of Turk Telecom, told Al-Ahram Weekly. The Turkish Telecommunications Authority, in fact, produces high-tech communication equipment at competitive prices, when compared to other European manufacturers, said Alpturk.
Referring to the Turkish privatisation experience, Oksuz said the private sector has proven it can "move faster than the government and utilise the highest technology in a more efficient manner." Many projects are currently being sold off in the electronics, communication, cement, sugar, textiles, iron and steel, as well as the food industry. Oksuz pointed out that these sectors are all open to foreign investors.
Moreover, Turkey is involved in extensive BOT (build, operate and transfer) projects in the field of maritime and railways networks, which, the Turkish transport minister said, Egypt could take part in. The two governments are currently discussing possibilities for the Egyptian private sector to participate in an ongoing project to construct an underwater railway at a depth of 58 metres in the Bosphorus Straits. "Turkey possesses the high-tech capabilities needed to manufacture trains and this is a field in which both our countries can cooperate." The benefits accruing to Egyptian investors contributing to the extensive railway network currently being implemented via Turkey are, in fact, substantial. While a railway was already inaugurated connecting Iran and Syria via Turkey in March of 2000, said Oksuz, "within five years, there will also be a railway line -- dubbed the Silk Railway -- connecting London to Hong Kong."
Discussions are currently under way between Syria and Jordan for the extension of a railway from Turkey to Saudi Arabia and subsequently to Egypt, which should activate trade between Middle Eastern and Asian markets.
Egypt and Turkey had started negotiations in 1998 for the establishment of a free trade area between the two countries. However, the initiative does not seem to have gained much impetus. Aykut ‚etirge, Turkish ambassador to Egypt, said both countries are planning negotiations in the agricultural sector. ‚etirge said talks on industry had stopped after the Egyptian Ministry of Economy declared that Egypt first needs to build an infrastructure in this domain.
Egypt's industries are awaiting the implementation of a massive industry modernisation programme which aims at enhancing their competitive abilities prior to engaging in the country's first major free trade arrangement, which is the partnership with the EU, to be fully implemented over a 12-year-period from the date of ratification.
A free trade area between Egypt and Turkey would provide a boost to their bilateral trade, which in 1998 amounted to $604 million and in 1999 dropped to $453 million. Turkish exports to Egypt include lentils, automobile parts and machinery, while Egyptian exports to Turkey include cotton, rice and raw materials.
Referring to plans for the export of Egyptian natural gas to Turkey, for which a memorandum of understanding had been signed in the Cairo MENA Conference in 1996, Cetirge said that during the G15 meeting held in Cairo in February, Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer had confirmed his country's commitment to finalising a deal. But the Turkish outlook on the matter, according to Cetirge, is that "the two projects [an FTA and gas export] should progress parallel to one another."
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