A fifteen Ghanaian business delegation is in Izmir, Turkey, to participate in an international business summit dubbed, “Turkey-Midwest Africa Trade Bridge.”
The 15-member delegation is part of 100 selected companies from the Midwest African countries who have already been linked to the Turkish business community.
They are expected to move into business-to-business meetings immediately after the opening session today.
Participating countries are Turkey, Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger. Ethiopia, which is not within the Midwest African countries, is expected to join as an observer and as a way of signaling its interest in doing businesses with Turkey.
The highly professional international business summit, organised by the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON), targets importers and importer companies operating in the fields of construction, furniture, food, agriculture, textile and cosmetics.
The Secretary General of the Ghana Turkey Co-operation and Development (TUDEC), Mr Huseyin Uysal, explained that about 30 leading Turkish manufacturers would mount an exhibition, while 300 were expected to meet with their African counterparts during the business-to-business segment of the summit.
He said the summit was a unique platform where the Ghanaian business community could meet and interact with reliable Turkish exporters, manufacturers, investors and traders.
Mr Uysal expressed the hope that the summit would generate interest among business communities in both countries.
He said since TUSKON was an umbrella organisation of seven business federations and 211 business associations, “such a platform offers a wide range of opportunities for the Ghanaian business community to take advantage of.”
TUSKON currently represents 55,000 business people and more than 140,000 companies. It is the largest business not-for-profit institution in Turkey.