Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The meeting, the keynote speech of which was given by TR Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık, was moderated by Alia El Yassir, Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia at the UN Women's Unit (UN Women).

TOBB KGK President Nurten Öztürk said in her speech;

“Sustainable growth and development are the main objectives of all countries. The way for the long-term and sustainable development of countries is to increase women's participation rates in the workforce.

Employing women ensures their economic independence and increases their power in domestic decision-making. Healthy and efficient growth cannot be expected from an economy where women of working age make up half of the total population cannot participate effectively.

Cooperatives are of great importance in ensuring sustainable rural development, using resources effectively and efficiently locally, and empowering women in the countryside. Women's cooperatives are effective in increasing women's employment and gaining the economic independence of women living in the countryside.

Women's cooperatives aim to actualize elements such as empowering and raising women's awareness, increasing production, having a profession for women and increasing their participation in the economy. Supporting women's cooperatives, which are important in the fight against poverty, also contributes to the country's economy. For this reason, support for women's cooperatives continues to increase in our country."

Öztürk went on to say that 1,000 women from 72 women's cooperatives in 10 provinces were trained to strengthen their commercial activities and increase their competitiveness in sales and marketing fields within the scope of My Sister Project, which was carried out in partnership with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Habitat Association and Coca-Cola Turkey.

Italian Minister of Equal Opportunity and Family Elena Bonetti, Indonesian Ministry of SMEs, Deputy Minister for Entrepreneurship Siti Azizah, ILO Business Department Program Manager Simel Eşim, FAO Chief Engineer Ismahane Elouafi and CECOP Secretary General (Confederation of European Industry and Service Cooperatives) Diana Dovgan attended the meeting, which also saw discussion on the activities of TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Council.