Istanbul will connect Europe to China Delivering a speech in the opening ceremony of training program for Egyptian Competition Authority, TEPAV Director Sak underlined that such steps turn into long-lasting dialogue mechanisms and that Istanbul-Islamabad railway project will be initiated with Pakistan.

ANKARA - TEPAV Director Prof. Guven Sak stated that a couple of weeks ago they received a proposal from Mr. Zerdari, President of Pakistan, regarding the construction of Istanbul - Islamabad railway and that TEPAV and TOBB will involve in this project that will connect Europe with India and China through railway.

Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the training program for Egyptian Competition Authority officials organized in cooperation with Turkish Competition Authority, Sak maintained that for Turkey Egypt is a 'key' country as the heath of Middle East and the key to the African market. Sak said he hoped the training program will constitute the first step in starting a long-lasting dialogue between Egypt and Turkey.

Stressing that such steps prove fruitful in turning into long-lasting dialogue, Sak in this context drew attention to the cooperation projects initiated following the training programs for Pakistani Competition Commission. Underlining that TEPAV and Turkish Competition Authority had the first workshop in Turkey in 2009 with Pakistani Competition Commission officials, Sak maintained that the dialogue with Pakistani officials continued and that Turkish officials were to visit Pakistan to analyze a few industries on the spot.

Emphasizing that TEPAV seeks to share technical experience in the region for economic integration through private sector development and capacity building, Güven Sak said Training and Research Institute for Public Policy (TRIPP) was established to this end last year. Sak wnet on to say that TRIPP has organized a series of workshops with officials from the countries in the region on investment climate reforms, local governance, and industrial estate management. Sak stated that workshops will continue also this year with valuable support of Turkish Development and Cooperation Agency (TIKA).

We can establish a platform for competitive Middle East

Prof. Nurettin Kaldırımcı, Chairman of the Turkish Competition Authority, stated that in 2011 Turkish Competition Authority is celebrating its thirteenth anniversary. Prof. Kaldırımcı maintained that the Authority shared its experience with several countries through seminars and hoped that this training with the Egyptian Competition Authority via the training program will be a first step for long-term cooperation. Underlining that they would like to build an experience-sharing platform in the region, Kaldırımcı maintained that Turkey and Egypt can play an important role in this mechanism so that more competitive markets can be created all over the Middle East.

Amal Salama, Minister Counsellor, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of The Arab Republic of Egypt in Ankara, stated that economic and commercial relations between Turkey and Egypt improved gradually and underlined that both countries were of significance in the region. Salama in this context maintained that they would be willing to involve into cooperation with Turkey in projects targeting at other countries of the region.