The activities of the International Business Forum “WCI” were launched in Istanbul, with the participation of Turkish and African businessmen.
The chairman of the forum, founder of the African Trade Center, Otku Bengi So, said that the trade volume between Turkey and African countries is $45.5 billion.
He pointed out, in a speech during the event, that the number of African businessmen participating in the forum is about 1,500 from most African countries.
About 400 Turkish businessmen from 61 states will also participate in the two-day exhibition on the sidelines of the forum.
“The time to discover and learn about Africa has passed, and the time has come to understand the brown continent and forge partnerships with it,” Su stressed.
He hoped that the trade volume between Turkey and Africa would reach $100 billion.
For his part, Vice President of the Turkish Association of Independent Businessmen and Industrialists “Musyad”, Gökhan Yetkin, stressed the importance of the International Business Forum in strengthening trade relations between Turkish and African businessmen.
He added that the forum is witnessing the participation of about a thousand businessmen from 41 African countries with a population of about 80 percent of the population of the continent.
In turn, Mali’s Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Sila Diarra-Asa, said that they aim to enhance trade between Turkey and her country, pointing to the signing of a number of important agreements in this regard