Turkey and Egypt have signed a memorandum of understanding on shipping cooperation aiming to facilitate the transit of Turkish commodities to Arab countries via Egypt.
The signing ceremony here on Monday was co-chaired by Turkish Minister of Economy Mehmet Zafer Caglayan and Egyptian Minister of Transport Jalal Saeed.
Under the document, a shipping route will be launched between the Mersin seaport, south Turkey, and the main Egyptian seaports in the Mediterranean and the Red seas which will serve as launch pads for the Turkish products en route to Egypt's Arab neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.
The deal aims to provide the Turkish exporters with an alternative to the cross-Syria route which was disrupted by the conflict in Syria.
Speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony, Saeed expressed satisfaction over the growing cooperation between his country and Turkey.
"Turkey is an influential country in the Middle East region and the new deal will greatly enhance the bilateral trade exchanges," the minister said.
On his part, Caglayan said under the deal, the first Turkish cargo ship will set off from Mersin to Egypt on April 26.
The deal, the first of its kind between the two countries, will open new markets for the Turkish products in Egypt and other Arab countries, he said.
The bilateral trade with Egypt saw a great leap in the recent years with the volume of Turkish exports growing by 66 per cent in the last four months only, Caglayan said.
The trade volume topped US$4 billion last year and is expected to hit US$6 billion by the end of 2012, the Turkish minister added.