Victoria Falls, Zambia
The Turkish government is promoting the Zambian tourism sector with support of the Zambian mission in Ankara so that Lusaka is well promoted in that country, says Turkish deputy ambassador to Zambia Mr. Veysel İndi.
Mr İndi said the Turkish government had observed that the Zambian tourism sector was important to the development of the country’s economy and hence needed support for it to grow.
“One of the key areas that we are paying attention to is tourism because we understand that it is important for Zambia. What we are trying to achieve is to make Zambia one of the most well-known nations in Turkey,” he said.
He said the only challenge in promoting Zambian tourism in Turkey was lack of direct flights between the two countries, adding that the Turkish government was however open to discuss the matter.
Mr İndi also said the number of Turkish businessmen in Zambia had been increasing every year due to good trade policies Lusaka had.
He explained that most Turkish businessmen in Zambia were in housing construction projects which Mr İndi said could be a solution to the house deficit the country was facing.
“We believe that the Turkish constructors will be a solution to the housing problem in Zambia because there is a huge housing deficit; we read that in papers every day and officials too have been talking about it as well.
“Zambia has sound policies and Government is trying to attract more business but of course there is room for improvement here and there,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr İndi said the Turkish government was working hard to ensure that trade figures with Zambia were to expected levels.
Mr İndi however said the Turkish government was confident that with time, its trade relations with Zambia would pick up as both governments continued to engage in business ideas.
“On the other hand, we have a commercial office here so we are doing everything we can to enhance numbers of trade levels with Zambia,” he said.
Source: Zambia Daily Nation
