Bekteshi asks Turkish businesspeople to invest in North Macedonia

Feb 9, 2021 | BUSINESS & ECONOMY, NEWSROOM

As part of his official visit to Turkey, Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi met with representatives of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey as well as with representatives of the Turkish Contractors Association.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Minister Bekteshi met with Ali Kopuz, the vice president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, and spoke about the long-standing strong friendly ties between North Macedonia and Turkey.

Despite the growing trade between the two countries, Bekeshi said, a lot of room remains for the trade volume to grow even more.

With this aim in mind, he added that the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries was in the process of being revised and updated, according to the press release.

“We want to send a message to the businessmen that as a friendly country, and as its Government, we will do everything in our power to improve conditions for greater cooperation as well as for the entry of new Turkish investments in the country.

“We want to reach a new Agreement that will signify a further improvement of our bilateral relations,” Bekteshi said after the meeting.

At the meeting, Mithat Yenigün, the president of the Turkish Contractors Association, presented major infrastructure projects planned to be implemented in North Macedonia in the coming period.

Yenigün also called on Turkish construction companies to submit their tender bids to upcoming calls for tenders, considering Turkish construction companies have traditionally been some of the most present on the Macedonian market.

“North Macedonia is a small country,” Bekteshi said, “but it has great potential.

“In the coming period we will be focused on the construction of several infrastructure projects, such as the Corridor 8 highway and railway sections.

“We are also accelerating construction work on the gas pipeline system in the country, with two Turkish companies in the race to build the distribution network.”

“We want to encourage even greater cooperation with Turkish companies,” Bekteshi highlighted.

The Minister of Economy also visited the Turkish company Girişim Elektrik, which is working on the construction of a 10 MW photovoltaic power plant in Oslomej.
The company’s management told the Minister they would be launching the photovoltaic power plant soon. They also talked about increasing their investments on the Macedonian market in several fields.
The delegation—including National Energy Resources CEO Bajram Rexhepi—will next meet with Turkey’s Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan, Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez, and representatives from Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board.
The delegation will also hold individual meetings with a number of Turkish businesspeople.

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