KOTA KINABALU: Turkey is hoping to forge ties and explore in trade and investment opportunities between the Republic and Sabah.

Turkish ambassador to Malaysia Her Excellency Dr Merve Safa Kavakci and her entourage had met with the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MICCI) Sabah represented by Datuk Seri Panglima Wong Khen Thau (Chairman); Datuk Lee Swi Heng (Vice Chairman); Susan Chang (Vice Chairman); and Mr Rajesh KP (Committee Member).

Areas of interest and opportunities would be in both upstream and downstream machineries for the oil palm (eg. boilers) industry; construction industry, specifically infrastructure building; and exportation of agriculture produce such as fruits and nuts to Sabah.

Besides, the Ambassador also briefed that Turkey has its niche and competitive advantages in both defense industry and technologies.

Potentials of tapping on Turkey as the gateway to many other countries in the Middle East and Europe were discussed at the meeting.

“The Turkish Airlines and its services alike would facilitate and enhance business travels, while many could reach out to greater markets in both Middle East and Europe making Turkey as their gateway and hub for trade and investment,” Kavakci recommended.

She also invited the Chamber and its members to visit Turkey and to learn more about Turkey, as Turkey has recently opened their borders with no PCR test and quarantine required.

Kavakci also encouraged more G2G and B2B collaborations between Turkey and Sabah through projects and invited business organisations to explore the possibilities to work with Turkish businesses both based in Malaysia and Turkey.

Likewise, promotion of Sabah as the gateway to BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-MalaysiaPhilippines East ASEAN Growth Area) with the population of 70 mil and moving of Indonesia’s capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara were also highlighted.

Datuk Seri Wong Khen Thau, Chairman of the MICCI Sabah reciprocate their invites by inviting the embassy and Turkish business organisations to participate in the forthcoming State Government sanctioned event, SABAH INTERNATIONAL EXPO 2023.

The expo will be held in May 2023 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. In which, supported by the Ministry of Industrial Development (MID) Sabah and co-organise by MICCI Sabah and the Federation of Sabah Industries (FSI).

The 10th SIE with the key objective to showcase potentials of Sabah to the world will be promoting trade and investment activities in the region.