Some 363 Gulf investors, mainly from Saudi Arabia, were hosted in Konya and Mersin this year, Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) Gulf States Representative M. Mustafa Göksu said yesterday, adding that investors are interested in agriculture and livestock.
Göksu said that they brought hundreds of investors from the Gulf countries to Turkey last year and that this year they also hosted 163 investors primarily from Saudi Arabia in Mersin and 200 in Konya. "The heart and soul of the Arab world is with us. They want to become locals by converting this love into investment in Turkey," Göksu said.
Göksu said in a statement that interest from investors from the Gulf in Turkey is increasing.
Prefacing that Turkey's economy is growing, Göksu said investors are coming to Turkey to address the domestic market and realize imports already made with other countries from Turkey. "This is a golden opportunity for us. We will make Turkey a base in investment and exports. Because Turkey is a very attractive country," Göksu said, adding that investors examine the incentives in all countries.
"Incentives are like icing on a cake. If the cake is good, the icing has meaning. If the cake is bad, the icing has no meaning," Göksu said.
He said that Turkey is a suitable country for investment and that investors rely on Turkey and its stability. "The heart and soul of the Arab world is with us. They want to become locals by converting this love into investment in Turkey. Hopefully, just like every year, we continue to increase the investments this year by bringing hundreds of investors in Turkey."
Göksu said they bring investors from different sectors to Turkey every year. "By introducing Gulf investors to companies in Turkey, we enable investments and exports to increase and partnerships to form, paving the way for Turkish businesspeople who want to expand their businesses," Göksu said."As we introduce these companies to Gulf countries, we are bringing together people who work in a certain sector we determine every year." Last year they brought together Turkish companies and investors operating in energy and Göksu said that this year, they brought together businesspeople working in agriculture and livestock from both Turkey and the Gulf. "We aim to reduce the meat imports of our country and turn it into an exporter. Our geography is very convenient for this," he said.
Pointing to investors' desire to come to Turkey, investment and become locals, Göksu said despite the fact that these people procure the products they import more cheaply from other countries, they see Turkey as a supplier in animal consumption and added that they will bring these people to Turkey.
Göksu previously said they will familiarize Arab investors with investment opportunities in Turkey and introduce them to domestic firms. He said that interest in the forum was well above their expectations and that they plan to organize a second forum to meet demand.
"With these activities, we aim to introduce investors from Gulf countries to domestic investors and present the opportunities Turkey has to offer to foreign investors. Our goal is also to bring Arab investors together with those who do the same work for them to establish partnerships and enable them to carry these partnerships to other countries," Göksu said.
Göksü said that last year they hosted very productive programs in Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa for 50 businessmen from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain who participated in the 8th Middle East Agriculture, Livestock, Poultry and Dairy Industry Fair. Arab investors who and made connections with local companies continue to closely follow the domestic market, he said.
