Turkey – Burkina Faso Mixed Economic Commission (KEK) 2nd term preparatory meeting was held on 19th of September 2019 in Ankara with the participation of Turkey – Burkina Faso Business Council.
The President of the DEİK/ Turkey – Burkina Faso Business Council Mr. Ahmet Dal visited the Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Ankara H.E Brahima Sere in his office in Ankara in order to assess the situation after the consecutive official visits of the Head of the Burkina Faso National Assembly H.E Alassane Bala Sakande and the President of Burkina Faso H.E Roch Marc Christian Kabore to Turkey.
The importance of reciprocal cooperation was highlighted in the meeting. Mr. Ambassador has indicated that Burkina Faso was following an investment oriented policy while saying that they had seen gradual economic growth thanks to the reforms implemented and that they were envisaging signing a new Trade Agreement with Turkey.
It was also decided to hold a Business Forum alongside the Mixed Economic Commission meeting simultaneously and to meet with officials from the Burkina Faso Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss further details.
Turkey – Burkina Faso Business Forum was hosted by Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Turkey – Burkina Faso Business Council in İstanbul with the participation of prominent business people of two countries. The President of Burkina Faso H.E Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Burkina Faso Minister of Trade Industry and Crafts H.E Harouna Kabore, President of DEİK Mr. Nail Olpak , Head of Burkina Faso Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Mahamadi Savadogo and the President of Turkey – Burkina Faso Business Council Mr. Ahmet Dal delivered their speeches in the meeting where the investment opportunities and the future of trade between two countries were widely discussed.
H.E Roch Marc Christian Kabore stated that there were vast opportunities in terms of business and investment in Burkina Faso for Turkish businesses and it was possible to engage in new business partnerships in the fields of mass housing construction, industrialization of underground treasures and local goods." Burkina Faso admires Turkey greatly. Turkish business people work proactively in different fields of activity and they are constantly improving. Burkina Faso has recently made progress in the cotton industry. We hope we'll reach as high as Turkey and Turkish business people did. Today's Business Forum will profit largely to Burkina Faso's industry. I would like to reiterate that Burkina Faso will always support Turkish business people in terms of economy and trade. We have a trustworthy and longstanding background in banking and finance. We look out for all needs of investors such as payment and access to financing. We will keep moving forward in our cooperation with Turkey." He said.
Olpak: "Burkina Faso is an investor friendly country."
" We can observe important investment opportunities in agriculture, mining and energy. Burkina Faso is also a center of attraction for Turkish textile industry. Our trade volume has decreased 30 million dollars in the last year so we can say that we are not content with this insufficient trade volume. As an organization with 45 Country Based Business Councils among 54 countries of the African region this trade volume is not satisfying for us. However, when opportunities and incentives taken altogether we see that there are great opportunities for Turkish businesses in the middle and long term. Our friendship with Burkina Faso goes way back."
The President of the Turkey – Burkina Faso Business Council Mr. Ahmet Dal, indicated that they would be working towards providing proper investment environment for both countries business people working closely with the Burkina Faso Chamber of Commerce and Industry."
Turkey - Burkina Faso Business Council organized a business lunch with the participation of the Head of Burkina Faso National Assembly Alassane Bala Sakande on 5th of February 2019. The President of the Turkey – Ethiopia Business Council Mr. Yusuf Aydeniz also participated in the lunch. A potential investment which would create employment for over 12 thousand people was discussed and it was deemed appropriate to establish facilities in 3 different cities of Burkina Faso.
