Turkish trade fair opens in Kenya

By Magdalene Mukami and Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Turkish Ambassador to Kenya, Deniz Eke, on Friday opened a Turkish building materials trade fair in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi where over 35 companies from the country were exhibiting their merchandise.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the trade fair, Eke said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during his visit to Kenya a few months ago, called on the business community from both sides to establish partnerships and share their business experiences and their technologies.

The Turkish ambassador said her country would love to have a win-win commercial and economic relationship with Kenya as emphasized by Erdogan during his visit to Kenya.

She said Turkey identifies Kenya as "a priority target country" and that Turkish businessmen are encouraged to establish partnerships abroad with the country.

Eke said the deadly July 15 defeated coup did not harm Turkey’s business prospects in Kenya and highlighted the resilience of its economy.

"We have had a very challenging (during the attempted coup) time in Turkey history but Turkish businessmen coming to Kenya three weeks after the defeated coup is the best proof of the resilience of Turkish economy and the Turkish democratic system," Eke said.

"We owe it to the people of Turkey who have united so strongly around democratic institutions to preserve democracy."

Ahmet Demir, a Turkish businessman who has been working in the construction sector for over 20 years, told Anadolu Agency that it is has been prosperous to travel to Kenya to market their items, goods and the quality of their products.

"We fully support our government, we will try and sell and we will be successful as we have a very powerful and strong government and president," Demir said.

Turkish Ambassador to Kenya also called on Kenyans to use the trade fair to establish partnerships and links with their Turkish partners to boost their building and construction industries.