Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The 2^nd TOBB-FGCCC Business and Investment Forum will be held by TOBB and the Federation of GCC Chambers (FGCCC) in Bahrain on the 1^st and 2^nd of November, 2016, under the auspices of Bahrain Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa.

- Hisarcıklıoğlu: An important opportunity

In his address, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated, referencing the fact that the FTA discussions have been resumed, the organization is an important opportunity to increase cooperation with the power of Gulf countries. He reported that sectoral meetings of companies active in agriculture and food, renewable energy, energy, oil and gas, defense industry, banking, finance and insurance, real estate, automotive and supply industry, chemical products, cosmetics and cleaning products, construction and infrastructure, construction materials, health and medicine, , Machinery and equipment, mining, textile and apparel, tourism, transport and logistics, electronics and telecommunication and franchising are planned to take place during the forum.

- Power of the Gulf countries

Gulf countries hold 50% of all global petroleum reserves as well as financial reserves. Combined GDP of GCC members Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia reaches 1.7 trillion USD. Combined populations of these countries is 47 million, with a per capita income of 36,000USD.

- Gulf Countries undergoing economic transformation

Petroleum and natural gas rich Gulf countries are working to diversify their production structures with recent drops in the price of these goods increasing intensity of efforts.

Pre-crisis growth of relations between Turkey and Gulf countries averaged around 33% annually. Bilateral trade volume of 1.8 billion USD in 2000 has reached 16.4 billion USD, there is a wide field of cooperation between Turkey and Gulf countries.