Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech at the ceremony, Cengiz Delibaş conveyed the greetings of TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and said, “He could not come today to support brotherly Azerbaijan because he would be with our business people because of the Business Forum organized in Karabakh-Shusha by the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, of which he is the President. They asked me to convey my greetings and respect to all the participants, the people of Kırşehir and Akhi friends.”

Stating that the place of Akhi culture is very different and valuable for TOBB, Delibaş said, “Because Akhism is our root as a community. It is the first professional organization in the world. Many of the services we provide to our members today are a reflection of the work done by Akhi Guild in the past. What Akhi chamberlains were 900 years ago, they are now our Chamber-Commodity Exchange Presidents. The Anatolian Women's Union, which is the women's organization of the Akhism, is what ‘Bacıyan-ı Rum’ was, and now it is our TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Council. The chamber systems, which constitute the umbrella of the private sector in the world today, have taken their establishment and activity principles from the Akhism and Guild system in our history. For this reason, first of all, we should understand the culture of Akhism very well and then introduce it to all countries. Because each of these values is indispensable for permanent success in business life.”

Cengiz Delibaş said that the Akhi organization that develops the people of Anatolia both economically and morally and regulates working life on the basis of the perfect people. Delibaş continued, “It is the Akhi culture born from these lands that actually teaches the world many concepts in the business world that foreigners want to teach us today. In today's modern world, many concepts such as trade ethics, customer satisfaction, quality, standards, consumer rights, social solidarity and mediation were applied in Anatolia about 700 years ago under the roof of the Akhi organization. Akhism, which combines trade and morality is known to the world as the center of honest and reliable trade. While moral degeneration is seen at the basis of the problems experienced in the world today, there is praise, gratitude, conviction and sharing in Akhism. Akhi is one who, after he has made his first sale himself, directs his customer to his neighbor for his first sale as well. Akhism is a means of carrying this blessed cause both to the society in which it is located and to other geographies through trade. Because Akhi Evran knew that the main element that shapes the morality of societies is the morality and behavior of trade and merchant. We, as a community, are the custodians of such a great heritage that we received from the Seljuks and the Ottomans.”

Reminding that TOBB is the institution that made the greatest contribution to the construction of the Akhi Evran Complex, Delibaş said, “We are the representatives of our ancient Akhism organization today. We strive to do justice to the blessed heritage left to us by our ancestors. Our goal is for Türkiye, as a developed country, to have a decisive say in the world. The only way to achieve this is to first protect our values, to be one and together, and to work.”

Delibaş emphasized that by protecting the Akhi culture, more than ever, is necessary to transfer and explain the Akhism culture that Akhi Evran left as a legacy to our young generations.