Yemeni businesspeople, who attended the first Turkish-Arab Countries Economy Summit and Turkish-Yemeni Business Forum on Jan. 11-13, highlighted that they see Turkey as an attractive country to invest in.
The summit was organized under the auspices of the Development Ministry and Mersin Governor's office and coordinated by the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT), Çukurova Development Agency and Turkish-Arab Businessmen Association.
Nabil Ali, a Yemeni businessman, stressed that the summit provided the opportunity for Turkish and Arab businesspeople to form lucrative collaborations.
Ali underscored that Turkish products are in high demand in the Gulf region for their high quality and affordable prices. Emphasizing that investments are related to security issues, the businessman said, "As we have observed, Turkey is a safe country governed by rule of law. Since the laws are regularly applied, Yemeni businessmen want to invest in Turkey."
Referring to the foreign investments in Turkey, Ali pointed out that Turkey is welcoming to foreign investors who want to make investments in the country and makes the investment procedures easy.
He mentioned he has a factory in Istanbul and said, "I feel like I am a Turkish citizen."Another Yemeni businessman, Mohamed El Sanhani, noted that he lives in China and engages in trade in the country. He said he participated in the Turkish-Arab Countries Economy Summit to see Turkish products closely.
Sanhani said he was considering making investments in Turkey and also explained his plans to build an Arabic website in partnership with a Turkish firm, where visitors can easily access information about Turkish products.
Mohamed Aidaros al-Humaikani, another Yemeni businessman who attended the summit, recalled that many Yemeni businesspeople made overseas investments due to the internal turmoil in Yemen, highlighting that they seek stability.
Al-Humaikani stressed that Yemeni businesspeople want to settle in Turkey and establish a factory or engage in trade in Turkey and export their products.
Recalling that the summit was attended by the most prominent businesspeople from Yemen, he said, "They generally make mega-scale investments and now they want to invest in Turkey. We as Yemeni businesspeople want to come together and make a collective investment here."
