Business Forum “Opportunities for Belarusian-Turkish cooperation”

The business forum “Opportunities for Belarusian-Turkish cooperation” was held in Minsk, organized by the Minsk Branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kerfez Chamber of Commerce.

During the opening of the business form, Sergey Nabeshko, Director General of the Minsk branch of the BelCCI, highlighted the close cooperation of the Minsk branch of the BelCCI with Turkish partners.

“This year's event is the fourth one so far, and we are certainly pleased that the number of our friends and partners is increasing. The clear evidence of it is our planning to sign an agreement on cooperation between the chambers,” the director stressed.

Recep Ozturk, President of the Kerfez Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the importance of this visit to Minsk as all representatives of Turkish businesses are in Belarus for the first time and are interested in the cooperation.

The event was attended by the representatives of the administration of Minsk and Kerfez.

Andrey Strigelskiy, Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee, pointed out that the countries have not yet fulfilled their cooperation potential. There are significant prospects in various fields ranging fr om mechanical engineering, light and food industries to healthcare, education and culture. He also said that Minsk has a lot to offer since it is open for cooperation, investment in economy and innovative projects. Minsk is great fr om an investor's point of view, because it has all the possibilities of infrastructure and professional human resources.

In turn, the Deputy Mayor of Kerfez Serkan Yenidemir emphasized that the Turkish side sees mutual interest in developing relations and expressed readiness to support the development of possible bilateral cooperation at the local administration level. Mr. Yenidemir suggested arranging a return visit to Kerfez for the administration of the Minsk City Executive Committee under the auspices of the Minsk branch of the BelCCI.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Turkey to the Republic of Belarus Guclu Cem Isik addressed the organizers and participants of the forum. In his speech, the Ambassador noted that by the end of 2023, the collective trade turnover between Belarus and Turkey reached almost $2 billion, thus surpassing the target figures set by the presidents of the two countries. “Belarus is interested in developing cooperation with Turkey and we are ready to use all possible resources to implement it,” Guclu Cem Isik said.

Two presentations, “Investment potential of the Republic of Belarus” and “Stock trading as a production promotion tool”, highlighted the investment potential of the country, as well as online trading opportunities.

At the forum, the Minsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kerfez Chamber of Commerce signed a cooperation agreement.

At the end of the plenary session, Sergey Nabeshko invited Belarusian businesses to take part in a business visit to Istanbul, wh ere a major exhibition MUSIAD Expo. will be held at the end of November. “It is multidisciplinary. We do understand how important and interesting it is for Belarusian entrepreneurs to visit it,” he remarked. (More information about the upcoming visit).

The forum continued with B2B negotiations, wh ere representatives of Belarusian enterprises had the opportunity to establish contacts with the heads of Turkish companies. The business dialogue covered such areas as mechanical engineering, construction, light industry, logistics and transport services, production of awning systems, medical equipment, furniture, and water purification systems.