A delegation from Al Meera Consumer Goods Company (Al Meera) has met with public and private sector officials in Turkey to enhance bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
The delegation was led by Al Meera deputy CEO engineer Salah al-Hammadi, who held meetings with Istanbul and Samsun-based investors and businesses looking to expand in Qatar. Meetings were also held with government officials, including Samsun governor Osman Kaymak.
The Al Meera delegation visited Happy Centre and its chairman, Ismail Altun, and CEO, Yavuz Altun, where they discussed strategic partnerships and ways to improve mutual cooperation. Al-Hammadi also graced the opening ceremony of Happy Centre’s 135th outlet.
The delegation also met with the Chamber of Commerce of Istanbul, the third largest chamber in the world with about 420,000 members. Members of the delegation were welcomed by vice chairman Ahmet Uzair. During the meeting, the two sides discussed the possibility of developing a solid network of partners in Turkey based on the recommendation of the chamber.
Al Meera also signed a memorandum of understanding with Tekzen, a Turkish corporation and part of Tekfen Group, to import non-food products. This collaboration will enable Al Meera to increase its non-food offerings in the Qatari Market.
The MoU was signed during a meeting between the delegation and the chairman of Tekzen, Murat Gigin, and board member and general manager, Onur Mertoglu. The Al Meera team visited Samsun Governorship for a tour around Koytour Chicken Factory with general manager Yahiya Nafi to assess the quality standards of their exclusive partner.
During the visit, the delegation met with Kaymak and discussed how his region could support trade with Al Meera. In addition, the delegation met Union of Chambers of Commerce of Turkey vice chairman Salih Zaki Murzioglu and Samsun Chamber of Commerce and Stock Exchange chairman Sinan Chakir.
Qatar and Turkey have always had strategic relations in many areas of co-operation, built upon a strong and friendly historical relationship. Trade relations continued to increase in the first quarter of 2018, Al Meera said. There are about 186 Turkish-Qatari firms operating in the Qatari market and 19 firms with 100% Turkish capital.
Al-Hammadi said: “Our recent visit to Istanbul and Samsun was highly-productive. Qatar and Turkey’s economic and business interests continue to grow stronger and both regions are benefiting from one another.
“As one of the most competitive countries in the Arab region, Qatar’s business environment offers countless rewarding opportunities to businesses and investors looking to expand.”
He added: “Our meetings with Turkish businessmen and business entities were also very positive and gave us the chance to discuss how we can help to increase the bilateral trade relations between Qatar and Turkey.
“Qatar’s market is replete with investment opportunities, which attract Turkish investors and businessmen, affirming that Qatari business owners have real desire to establish trade alliances and partnerships with their Turkish counterparts.”
Since its inception, Al Meera has placed immense thrust on community welfare, as social responsibility is considered an integral part of its programmes. In lieu of its ongoing efforts, Al Meera was recently recognised to bring forth a number of economic initiatives designed to empower entrepreneurs in the country and contribute to Qatar’s economic diversification during the ‘5th Social Responsibility
Conference’.