ABITAT President Ali Akkiz told The Guardian in an exclusive interview on Thursday in Dar es Salaam that there is an increasing interest of business delegations from Turkey especially in last three years. The recent business delegation which came to Tanzania was much interested in investing in agriculture, textile, and in other sectors such as automobile engineering.
“All this is because of relentless effort by Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) and Alliance of Businessmen and Industrialists of Tanzania and Turkey (ABITAT). Turkey opened its door to outside when Turgut Ozal became prime minister in 1983. But it took a long time to see the opportunities in Africa,” he said. He added: “Turkey was not a petroleum rich country. That's why it had to work hard to compete with other countries. When Turgut Ozal came to power Turkey's economy depended on agriculture. After him Turkey became very famous for its textile industry and construction”.
“As ABITAT we want Turkish businessmen come and invest in Africa, especially in Tanzania. Tanzania means East Africa. It is the gate of East Africa in our eyes. By making investment in Tanzania they can address the countries around Tanzania which are landlocked,” he said.
The ABITAT President also said that Turkish business community feel that they can do many things in Tanzania. We tell them to make their own business which they know here. With small capital they cannot do anything here. We say, in Tanzania only TVs and ACs can work by remote control. That's why we advise them to be here for their business,” he said.
He insists: “In last three years we hosted around 2500 businessmen from Turkey. Not all of them came for business. Some of them came just to see Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Serengeti, Ngorongoro etc. They saw the country. They saw the opportunity. Some of them came back to invest”.
“I can say 2.5 per cent came back for investment. The number may seem small but every rain starts with one or two drops and every spring starts with one ortwo flowers,” he said.
Akkiz underscored that ABITAT began to make introductory programmes in Turkey to attract big fishes. Last year, for example, they invited number one of Turkey, KOC Group which owns 10 per cent of Turkish industry.
“KOC Group came for energy, mining and agriculture. They came from SABANCI Group for aviation. They have big capitals. We encourage them to come and see the opportunity in this country. When other big players hear about them, they are eager to come and invest here,” he said.
When asked how much trade is there between Tanzania and Turkey, he said: “It is very low when you compare with the other countries but as I said before every rain starts with one drop. With our trade, world Trade Bridge programmes organised in collaboration with TUSKON will make Tanzania known by Turkish investors and Tanzanian businessmen.
“ABITAT is organising business match-making between Tanzanian and Turkish businessmen. We are organising events, seminars, workshops, field trips, conferences and debates that keep our members enlightened on various business opportunities.
“We promote social and economic relations between Tanzania and Turkey while providing members with a broad spectrum of services and new opportunities to Tanzanian and Turkish businessmen with regards to trade, industry, agriculture, construction, mining, NGOs, manufacturing, professional activities and other related activities,” he said.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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