Thirty business people from Rwanda’s agro-processing, textile, food, steel and furniture industries will early next month visit Istanbul, Turkey as part of the efforts to boost trade relations between the two countries, and the East African region generally.

The three-day trade mission code named "Turkey-East Africa Trade Bridge 2014” is organised by the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, Tuskon.  

The visit that runs from February 9-13 in Gaziantep, Istanbul, is tipped to give local investors insights on how they can benefit from the vast business opportunities Turkey presents, Adem Sanliturk, the secretary general of the Rwanda Active Businessmen Association (RWABA), said.

RWABA promotes a two-way trade and investment relationship between Turkey and Rwanda, and also within  the East Africa region.

"The mission is an opportunity for business people from both countries to learn from each other and see how they can work together to promote trade and investment between the two countries. Participants will meet Turkish exporters and manufacturers, who will share their experiences on industrial development,” Sanliturk said. 

The move has been lauded by analysts, saying it will help link local traders to European markets given Turkey’s strategic geographical location in Europe. 

Hannington Namara, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) chief executive officer, said the expedition comes at the right time when the private sector is scaling up efforts to deliver the country’s growth blueprint, EDPRS II objectives.

"The local business community will be able to share and learn from the Turkish experience on how to improve production processes. 

"This exposure will fuel  the private sector, strengthen business relations between the two nations and make it easy for local firms to penetrate European markets,” Namara said.

The event will also feature product exhibition, business-to-business meetings and a tour of Gaziantep industrial development zone. 

Sanliturk said overall, 12 countries from all over the world will participate in the event that will bring together 2,000 business people, including 135 from Africa, 30 of whom will be from Rwanda. 

In 2012 governments of Rwanda and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding that provides a co-operation framework between the two countries in a bid to strengthen mutual understanding and investments.

Tuskon is a non-governmental and non-profit umbrella that brings together seven business federations and 211 business associations, representing 55,000 business people and more than 140,000 companies.