Cairo: The 2nd meeting of the High-Level Trade Consultations Mechanism between Egypt and Turkey was held on Monday, December 1, 2025, in Cairo. Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) Minister Plenipotentiary for Commercial Affairs Abdel Aziz El-Sherif chaired the experts' meeting on the Egyptian side, while the Turkish side was headed by Mr. Hosnu Dilemre, Director General of the International Agreements Department at the Turkish Ministry of Trade.
According to State Information Service Egypt, these meetings are being held nearly 15 years after the last session of this mechanism in 2010, which reflects Egypt's commitment to enhancing and supporting trade and investment relations with Turkey. El-Sherif noted that this meeting crowns the efforts undertaken recently by the ECS and its commercial office in Istanbul, amid the progress and momentum in the bilateral relations between the two countries.
He added that the timing coincides with the visit of Turkish Minister of Trade Mr. mer Bolat to Egypt on 2-3 December 2025, to participate in the Fourth Meeting of Trade Ministers of the D-8 Group, organized in Egypt by the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade.
During the meetings, El-Sherif added that both sides welcomed the bilateral trade volume, which reached USD 9 billion in 2024. Both parties affirmed their commitment to increasing bilateral trade to USD 15 billion, in line with the directives of Presidents Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr. Hosnu Dilemre emphasized that Egypt is Turkey's primary gateway to the African continent and expressed his aspiration to elevate the strategic partnership between the two countries. El-Sherif also noted that the Turkish side expressed appreciation for the support provided by Egyptian authorities for Turkish investments, currently amounting to around USD 4 billion, with a goal to increase them to USD 7 billion in the coming years.
He added that the meetings aimed to discuss technical issues in areas such as trade remedies, investment, transport, customs, and government offerings for Turkish investors. Discussions covered bilateral cooperation between Egyptian and Turkish companies in other markets, particularly given the performance of construction and contracting companies from both countries. The meetings included representatives from Egyptian and Turkish entities to develop solutions to increase Egyptian exports to Turkey and attract more Turkish investments, in light of the Free Trade Agreement since 2005.