Baladna Q.P.S.C. and Türkiye-based Gurmen Group have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning a possible textile factory in Syria. Ramez Al Khayyat, Baladna's president, and Remzi Gur, chairman of Gurmen Group, put their names to the document. The agreement was reported on 9 November.
The parties will carry out joint feasibility work on whether such a plant could be set up and run through a joint venture. They list industrial development, the transfer of skills and technology, employment creation and stronger manufacturing capability in Syria among the goals. The document sets out a cooperation framework; it does not confirm that a project will proceed.
Marek Warzywoda, Baladna Group's chief executive, said the collaboration formed part of the company's interest in ventures linked to rebuilding Syria's economy and expanding its output-generating industries. Textiles, he said, have notable potential, above all when foreign industrial know-how is combined with local abilities. Baladna wants to help create durable industries that generate jobs, bolster domestic production and improve how Syrian goods compete both in the region and farther afield.
Yasemin Gur Solmaz, who chairs Gurmen Group, said the Turkish side would use the tie-up to examine a modern textile operation, drawing on its know-how in manufacturing, technology and selling abroad. She said that pooling the two firms' strengths might yield a business able to compete over the long term and would contribute to the development of Syria's textile industry.
Baladna's broader plans in Syria include an integrated dairy farm and processing facility and cooperation with the International Finance Corporation on dairy-sector opportunities that would involve local farmers and livestock producers. The group is also examining agriculture, sugar production and strategic crops alongside textiles. No location, capacity, product range, timetable or investment figure for the proposed textile plant was disclosed.
The companies have not said what fabrics or garments the proposed facility would make or which customers it would serve. For the moment, the project remains at the evaluation stage.
Sources
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