DAR ES SALAAM, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has expressed interest to create a free-trade and investment area between Turkey and the East African Community (EAC), Xinhua learnt on Wednesday.
Turkish Ambassador(大使) to Tanzania Sander Gurbuz said his country is interested to forge diplomatic relations with the regional bloc while presenting his credentials to Secretary General of EAC Juma Mwapachu in Arusha in northeast Tanzania on Tuesday.
On the free-trade area, Gurbuz noted that having a free-trade area between the two sides would swiftly boost（促进） socio-economic development in the region. The negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement and Trade and an Investment Framework Agreement is scheduled to take place in September this year.
The Turkish ambassador noted that Turkey has made remarkable development in the tourism and textile（纺织） industries, and that Turkey has diverse skills in technology and other areas, which will be instrumental for the development of the two.
"This will give an opportunity for businessmen from the EAC to freely trade with Turkey while the same would happen for Turkish business people," he said, adding that the official proposal（建议，建设） for the free-trade area will soon be presented to the EAC secretary general.
He also explained that EAC has a lot of opportunities that need to be shared by the two sides including tourist attractions. The ambassador pledged that Turkey will bring to East Africa a large number of Turkish tourists in the near future.
In accomplishing the idea, the Turkish airline has already introduced direct flights from Istanbul to three EAC destinations - - Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Entebbe.
For his part, Mwapachu said the proposal for the free-trade area between the EAC and Turkey opens a new chapter in strengthening trade relations between the two sides, reviewing the long historical ties that Turkey has with this region.
The EAC is the regional intergovernmental organization consisting of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The bloc covers a population of 126.6 million with a combined GDP of 73 billion U.S. dollars, and a development strategy of growing up from a Customs Union, a Common Market to a Monetary Union and eventually a Political Federation.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑） |