ITHIB Visited Cuba and Dominican Republic
Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB) paid an official visit to Cuba and the Dominican Republic in order to strengthen relations between the countries. The meetings were held with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudes and Dominican Republic Minister of Trade and Industry Víctor Orlando Bisonó Haza.
After the visit, Ahmet Öksüz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ITHIB, made statements about the targets of the Turkish textile industry, which exports to more than 200 countries and regions annually and closed last year with exports of 12.9 billion dollars. He said; “We will continue to focus on countries with high export potential.”
Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudes hosted Ahmet Öksüz and ITHIB Board Members. ITHIB delegation held meetings with the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Tourism and made on-site inspections at the established textile enterprises in Cuba.
Meetings and factory visits were also held with Yeşim Kebapcıoğlu, Ambassador of Cuba to St. Domingo, and the Minister of Trade of the Dominican Republic.
Ahmet Öksüz said: “We held many meetings in Cuba and the Dominican Republic in order to develop our bilateral trade relations. We had a very productive program. In the coming days, we are planning to organize organizations such as trade delegations and procurement delegations to turn these meetings into trade potential”
“We will continue to focus on countries with high potential”
Ahmet Öksüz said: “Our textile industry was affected by the earthquake disaster. However, we have started to take actions to heal our wounds and recover. We continue to produce and add value to the global textile industry and Turkey. We will express our message with our loudest voice this year. In 2023, we aim to maintain our export level of 13 billion dollars. One of our most important goals in 2023 is to organize special organizations in countries where we have a market share below our potential. We will continue to focus on remote countries with high export potential, such as the Dominican Republic and Cuba. We met with intense interest within the scope of the delegations we organized”
Stating that they have successfully completed all stages of production from fiber to the final ready-to-wear product in Turkey’s textile and garment sectors, Ahmet Öksüz said: “Turkey is one of the few countries in the world that exports as well as meeting all the demands from the domestic market. This means that we are privileged and have a competitive advantage. Our textile and apparel sectors have an annual production capacity of 80 billion dollars.”
