Event to boost Uae-turkey cooperation, says envoy
Turkey’s participation in Expo 2020 signifies “a new era of cooperation,’ and will increase tourism to his country, said Tugay Tuncer, Ambassador of Turkey to the UAE.
The envoy who toured the Turkish pavilion on Wednesday said his country’s participation is also an opportunity to showcase the robust and diversified Turkish economy.
Tuncer, who once worked as a tourist guide, said Expo 2020 is also expected to contribute to Turkey’s tourism sector. “Expo will contribute to Turkey’s vision of diversified tourism, including from the UAE and the Gulf, which are key visitation markets for Expo. We will show that Turkey is ready and willing to accommodate more tourism,” the envoy told the Expo News Service.
“Many people earn their income from tourism…be it guides, hotel employees, or in food production or processing. The industry has many sub-products and subindustries. We welcomed approximately 30 million tourists annually before Covid-19. This year, we reached high numbers, despite opening to the market quite late, and it was clear that people are hungry for travel,” he added.
The ambassador said: “Our trade with the UAE is at $8.5 billion and the numbers are increasing. In the first six months we saw close to a 100 per cent increase, and Expo 2020 will contribute to [this growth]. It will show that we can export processed food, fruit and vegetables and construction materials, which this region needs, and which Turkey has in abundance. Our construction sector is the second biggest in the world.”
Mukerrem Aksoy, Commissioner General of Turkey, said: “Turkey produces organic foods for the whole world. And we are ready to supply to the world.”
The Turkey Pavilion under the theme ‘Creating the Future from the Origin of Civilizations’, was designed to reflect the unique history of Anatolia – the cradle of civilisation, as well as to showcase the country’s sustainability goals.