Monday, 25 May 2026
Egypt and Turkey boost industrial and transport cooperation at Istanbul forum
Istanbul, Turkey — Egypt has taken significant steps to strengthen its industrial and transport relations with Turkey and other international partners following a series of high-level meetings in Istanbul.
Lieutenant General Kamel Al-Wazir, Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, led an intensive diplomatic and economic mission during his official visit for the 2025 Global Transport Connectivity Forum.
Al-Wazir joined Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and representatives from 70 countries at the forum’s opening ceremony, underscoring Egypt’s growing commitment to regional and international cooperation in line with its Vision 2030 economic agenda.
Advancing industrial collaboration
Kicking off his visit, Minister Al-Wazir met with Ugur Dalbeler, Vice President of the World Steel Association and the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association, to discuss avenues for closer cooperation between the two countries in the metal industry.
“Egypt, under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is focused on expanding heavy industries and transferring modern technologies," Al-Wazir stated, stressing that boosting local manufacturing and exports remains a top priority.
He highlighted Egypt’s rapidly expanding steel sector, propelled by country-wide industrial growth and urbanization. The minister praised the Turkish steel industry’s influential role and expressed Egypt’s keen interest in leveraging global frameworks like the World Steel Association, which brings together more than 160 companies from 69 countries.
Egyptian-Turkish business roundtable
In another key event, Al-Wazir engaged in a roundtable with MUSIAD, Turkey’s Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association, attended by the heads of 35 of Turkey’s leading companies in fields such as chemicals, textiles, construction, energy, and food production.
The minister highlighted Egypt’s attractive investment climate, including incentives for foreign investors—such as tax discounts of up to 50%, low labor costs, world-class infrastructure, and access to extensive free trade agreements covering over 1.5 billion consumers across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.
He reinforced Egypt’s commitment to supporting Turkish investors, particularly in the real economy and manufacturing sectors, calling for sustainable industrial partnerships. Egyptian representatives presented key advantages in industries like petrochemicals, consumer electronics, automotive components, and textiles.
Shaping the future of global transport
The forum’s ministerial session, titled “The Future of Connectivity in a Fragmented World,” saw Minister Al-Wazir share the stage with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, UN officials, and senior representatives from the International Transport Forum.
Al-Wazir emphasized evolving challenges—from supply chain disruptions to climate change—as urgent reasons for deepening regional and global cooperation. He called transport connectivity “an imperative, not an option,” in an era marked by rapid change and global realignment.
Turkey’s central role in the global transport network was highlighted, with Al-Wazir noting, “Egypt is committed to enhancing partnership with Turkey across maritime, rail, road, and air sectors to create efficient trade corridors linking Asia, Africa, and Europe.”
He outlined Egypt’s vision to emerge as a regional hub for transport, logistics, and transshipment, leveraging its unique location at the crossroads of the Red and Mediterranean Seas and the Suez Canal—one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
Expanding regional cooperation
Al-Wazir also met with his Bulgarian counterpart to discuss closer cooperation in transport—particularly in ports and logistics—and to encourage new investments into Egypt. Egypt’s strategic initiative involves developing seven integrated international logistics corridors connecting key industrial, agricultural, and service zones with major seaports.
Throughout his visit, Al-Wazir reaffirmed Egypt’s openness to global investment, its determination to modernize infrastructure, and its vision for “resilient, multimodal transport corridors” capable of withstanding crises and driving sustainable economic growth.