The Business Council came to fruition during the Tanzania-Turkey Trade Forum after the business community from both countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening business and trade ties among them.

 

During the forum, President Magufuli challenged the TPSF and Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEiK) to speed up procedures that would see the business people from those countries increase trade relations so that the trade volume could go up to 1 billion US Dollars (about 2 trillion)/ from current 190 million US Dollars.

 

"We are going to introduce the secretariat for the Tanzanian part immediately as we are acting so fast to implement the president's call," Executive Director of the TPSF, Mr Godfrey Simbeye, said at a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

 

He noted that the DEiK will as well introduce the secretariat for Turkey. The council will facilitate trade and investment ties by involving different sectors from the two countries. Explaining some of the activities to be carried out by the council, he said it would help promote trade and contribute to industrial and technological collaboration between the enterprises and economic institutions.

 

It would also coordinate joint efforts to collect, combine, analyse, evaluate and diffuse information in relation to trade, industrial and technological cooperation and investments for the mutual benefit of the two countries. The council will operate in the form of two national divisions.

 

Each division will have its own member companies and economic associations. The DEik will provide the secretariat for the Turkish Division, whereas the TPSF will provide the secretariat for the Tanzanian side.

 

The national divisions are expected to met at least once a year on rotation basis, both in Turkey and Tanzania, to examine the achievements and opportunities in the fields of trade, investments, industrial and technological cooperation and on various forms of trade, finance, bilateral and international collaboration.

 

TPSF Chairman Reginald Mengi saw a bright future for the envisaged industry-driven economy in the country since partnering with Turkey, which, he noted, is advanced in agro-processing, from which Tanzania would learn and develop its own agro-processing industries.

 

"I call upon Tanzanians to make use of these coming opportunities," he said, adding that President Magufuli gave an encouraging statement to the private sector during the Trade Forum at which he showed the political will to support the business community.

 

He commended President Magufuli for making significant and positive changes that could have taken the government many years to implement but which he has managed to do it within a short time of his leadership, including controlling corruption.

Source : allafrica.com