International business expo in Istanbul to aim for $1B trade volume

Next week's international Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) Trade Expo 2024 in Istanbul will target $1 billion in trade volume through business-to-business (B2B) meetings, according to the Turkish group.

The MUSIAD Expo 2024 will bring together businesspeople and investors from 88 countries, with attendees from over 300 participating firms operating in 24 different sectors forging new collaborations on Nov. 26-29.

The event will include a G20 panel, a diplomatic missions session, the Türkiye-Iraq Business Forum, MUSIAD's own networking program, and closing programs.

The last day of the event will be allocated to B2B meetings with international procurement delegations, country presentations, special programs, and signing of memorandums of understanding.

MUSIAD head Mahmut Asmali said in a statement that the event will boost Türkiye's global trade potential, building bridges by hosting businesspeople from worldwide for the 20th time in the event's history, with more than 500 foreign procurement delegations attending the expo.

"Participants from countries such as Iran, Germany, India, Malaysia, China, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) bring a strong international identity to the event," he said.

Asmali said this year's B2B meetings will strengthen export connections as the event aims to reach $1 billion in trade in sectors ranging from textile to the defense industry and from food to the construction sector.

A delegation of 300 people from Algeria and two large delegations from Iraq and the UK will be at the event to hold bilateral business meetings, as well as another large group from Malaysia, he said.

Additionally, the 28th International Business Forum (IBF) will be held at the expo on Monday with the theme of "Migration in its Humanitarian and Economic Dimensions" to discuss the social and economic impact of migration with non-governmental organizations, business leaders, and academics from 32 countries.

"We will not discuss whether migration is good or bad but how migration is managed and what it is directed towards and what is being done in the world," said IBF head Erol Yarar.

"We believe a holistic migration policy should be established and projects to ensure social integration of migrants should be put forward," he added.