Establishment of Turkish-Mozambican Economic Council
On May 6, the CTA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) of Turkey to create a Turkish-Mozambican Economic Council to promote economic relations between the two countries and to collect, analyze and disseminate information on trade, industry, technology for the mutual benefit of both nations.
The signing took place at a Mozambique-Turkey business forum for the construction sector organized by the Turkish Embassy in Maputo in partnership with the Mozambican Federation of Entrepreneurs (FME) and in the presence of, among others, Public Works, Housing and Water Resources Minister Carlos Martinho and Turkish Economy Deputy Minister Adnan Yıldırım. The meeting brought together a delegation of companies, members of the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) and their counterparts from the FME.
Agostinho Vuma, the chairman of the FME and vice president of the CTA, said that in Mozambique, the construction sector has experienced strong growth in 2014, with a rate of 36.6 percent, but that the sector is dependent on imports of construction services, which represents an opportunity for Turkish companies. Minister Martinho said that Mozambique has made a number of reforms to improve its business environment and stressed the need to diversify sources of foreign investment.
Turkish Ambassador to Mozambique Aylin TaÅŸhan said that Mozambique and Turkey have great potential to build partnerships in sectors such as construction and tourism and suggested that the opening in October 2015 of an airline route between Mozambique and Turkey, operated by Turkish Airlines, will also allow greater proximity between both countries.
Turkish Minister Yıldırım stated that the products and services sold by Turkish contractors are very competitive and that since 1972, members of the TCA have developed 7,800 projects in 104 countries, with a total business volume of $304 billion. He also noted that 42 of the 250 largest international construction companies are Turkish, according to the classification of the Engineering News-Record (ENR).
CTA President Rogério Manuel has said that private investment plays a crucial role in the development of the Mozambican economy, including through partnership with foreign entrepreneurs and especially with Turkish entrepreneurs, who are considered leaders in the construction sector at the European and even global level.