Turkish firms score $1B successes in Senegal: Zeybekci

DAKAR, Senegal Turkey’s economy minister on Friday praised the success of Turkish companies active in Senegal. "I have seen Turkish firms succeeding in billion-dollar projects in Senegal such as airports, convention centers, hotels, logistics centers, and marketplaces," Nihat Zeybekci told Anadolu Agency. Zeybekci is in Senegal’s capital Dakar for a meeting of the Senegal-Turkey Business Forum. He added that they will continue to support Turkish companies in Senegal via Turk Eximbank. He stated that Turkish and Senegalese businessmen and officials will gather at an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit set for next February in Turkey. Zeybekci added that an agreement was reached for Turkish companies to build a new 15,000-seat trade center and indoor sports hall in Senegal to open next July. "This year we’re exceeding our president's $250-million trading volume goal that he set in 2013. We aim for $1 billion in trade with Senegal by 2020," Zeybekci said. Separately, Zeybekci said that they aim to keep inflation in Turkey in the single digits in 2018. Annual inflation reached 12.98 percent in November, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced in early December. November's annual rate was up from 11.9 percent in October, according to official data.