Arab League reps meet at Istanbul conference

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Minister Ergün is scheduled to open a Turkish-Arab conference in Istanbul. AA photo

Istanbul will host the two-day Turkish-Arab Industrial Partnership Conference starting today.

The conference, which is taking place in Turkey for the first time, will kick off with an opening speech from Turkish Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergün.

The conference is designed to explore business partnership and investment opportunities among Arab League countries.

Industrial ministers from 22 Arab League countries, as well as 400 businessmen from the Arab League nations, are expected to attend the conference.

Attendees will primarily be from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement from the Science, Industry and Technology Ministry.

The conference is expected to foster partnerships in various sectors, including the automotive, machinery, iron-steel, textiles, infrastructure and construction, food, electronics, wooden furniture, research and development, chemicals and petro-chemicals and energy sectors.

The trade volume between Turkey and Arab League countries has increased from $6.6 billion in 2002 to $33 billion in 2010. Turkey’s exports have increased eight-fold and imports three-fold during this same time period, according to a statement from the Science, Industry and Technology Ministry.