Turkey, Chad to boost mutual trade

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey will increase its trade volume with Chad, Yeni Shafak newspaper has reported.

Erdogan made the remarks at the joint press conference held together with Chad’s interim president Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in Turkey's Ankara, the report added.

"We would like to see Chad among the leading partners of our country in Africa. Last year, our trade volume exceeded the target we set and reached $112 million with an increase of 47 percent. We wish to deepen and diversify our commercial relations, taking into account the potential we have,” Erdogan stressed.

He added that the new target is to increase the bilateral trade volume to $200 million in the first stage and to reach $500 million in the second phase.

“We aim to develop trade and economic relations in a holistic, inclusive, mutual respect and win-win approach," Erdogan said.

He stated that Turkey is ready to give all kinds of support to Chad during the transition period.

Erdogan underlined that Chad, which has assumed the term presidency of the G5 Sahel and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, plays an important role in the region.

Recalling his recent visits to Angola, Togo and Nigeria, Erdogan said that Turkey hosted the third Turkey-Africa Economy and Business Forum in Istanbul on October 21-22, and the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit will also be held in Istanbul on December 17-18, 2021.

"We want to see my esteemed brother among us at the summit. We are determined to further our cooperation with Chad in every field,” he stressed.

Speaking about Turkey’s educational activities in Chad, Erdogan recalled the construction of an agricultural school in the country.

Erdogan highlighted the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Turkish Airlines and the non-governmental organizations’ contributions to the development of Turkey-Chad relations.

He also thanked the Chadian government for supporting Turkey against terrorism.

“We cannot forget the support of our Chadian brothers in the fight against FETO. We are grateful for the transfer of FETO-affiliated schools in N’Djamena to our Turkish Maarif Foundation in 2017,” Erdogan added.

Furthermore, the Turkish president expressed his willingness to cooperate with Chad in the military defence and security fields and in fighting terrorist organizations and armed opposition groups.

As a part of Itno’s visit to Turkey, numerous documents such as the memorandum of understanding on technical, scientific and economic cooperation, agreement on the abolition of visas for diplomatic passport holders were signed between the two countries.