Egypt’s Parliament calls for boycotting Turkish imports

CAIRO – 23 April 2017: Members of the Egyptian Parliament are demanding the government to boycott Turkish products, in response to Turkey’s “hostile” attitude against Egypt.

“If we cannot punish them [Turkey] militarily, we shall punish them economically by halting all kinds of trading,” said Undersecretary of the Parliament’s Industry Committee Mohamed el-Zeiny.

“Economic boycott is a firm stance from Egypt to confront countries which finance and support terrorism and seek to destroy the Egyptian state,” Zeiny stated. “If I were in President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s place, I would have withdrawn the Egyptian ambassador from Turkey,” he added.

Member of Human Rights Committee in the parliament Hussein Abu Gad called for imposing fines against importing Turkish steel.
“How could we import steel from a country hostile to Egypt at the expense of national industry?” Gad stated, addressing Minister of Industry, Trade and Small Industries Tarek Kabil.

Mohamed Abdel Hamid, member of the Economic Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, also called for boycotting all Turkish products, including food and steel, and immediately halting imports.

“We cannot benefit Turkish economy while Turkey is doing its best to fight us and destroy our economy,” Hamid said, adding that the state has to support national industry.

The relation between Cairo and Ankara has been tense since the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Egypt has repeatedly condemned Turkey for intervening in its internal affairs, and calling for Morsi’s release. In November 2013, Egypt asked the Turkish ambassador to leave the country; in response, Turkey expelled the Egyptian ambassador in Ankara.

In November 2016, Egypt responded firmly to a statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying Turkey was against “coup governments and the violation of freedoms” in Egypt.

In an official statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeperson said the Turkish statements were a “continuation to the blundering and double standards approach that the Turkish policies have been characterized by throughout the past years.”