TURKEY is a safe country and Zimbabweans are free to travel and engage in trade deals there, an envoy has said, barely two weeks after a coup against Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was foiled by citizens.
BY REJOICE CHINGWARU
Turkish ambassador to Zimbabwe, Kadir Hiyadet Eris told NewsDay on Tuesday that a trade agreement between his country and Zimbabwe, which was signed by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and Turkish Industrial Association (Deik) early this year, would go ahead as planned.
“The trade between Turkey and Zimbabwe will go on as planned and our country is safe, so Zimbabweans should be free to travel to and trade. Zimbabweans will soon be seeing many Turkish traders as we are going ahead with our trading plans,” he said.
Eris said officials from the Industry and Commerce ministry, who are set to travel for the International Fair in Izmir, will be safe in Turkey.
The July 15 coup attempt saw a trading setback for Turkey, as the Turkish lira dropped by 10%, but Eris noted that their economy was recovering and has so far recovered by 3,5%.
He said Turkish Airways will fly into Zimbabwe as planned.
“Turkish Airways, which is coming to Zimbabwe either at the end of this year or beginning of next year, will provide a straight route from Zimbabwe to Turkey and this will make it easy for traders to travel,” Eris said.
