Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

A meeting to develop economic relations between Turkey and the USA was held in Istanbul in March, 2011 by PNB Turkey.

Speaking at the meeting where 150 entrepreneurs from 10 countries met to discuss employment, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the partnerships they have established have finally starting bearing fruit last year; they have guests from Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Tunisia and the USA.

Stating that the world is preparing for “a new beginning”, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are living in a time when what we know to be right is wrong and what we know to be wrong is right.”

Pointing out that the economic struggles in the West which are fast turning into a political crisis, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that rightful claims of the peoples in the Middle East are bringing with them serious political change.

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The cards are being dealt anew. A new order is being established. All of us, representatives of the business world, are doing our best to come out of this transformation period with the least damage. We, of course, have expectations from all decision makers in this process. First of all, we are waiting for European leaders make a decision. They should understand by now that the worst decision would be better than indecision.”

Stating that Europe needs to make a decision today, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “They will either have to own up to the loans of one, increase integration and start the process towards a singular financial management or they will say: ‘everyone to their separate ways’ and end this.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the leaders in the Middle East should not try to turn back the tide but instead open the way for transformation.

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We do not mean just a political transformation. Because the problem in these countries isn’t just political. It is quite evident that there is a serious need for economic restructuring. We’ve all seen recently that oil and natural gas do not make people rich. They do not spread the wealth to society or render stability sustainable. Therefore a transformation for all economies –from the richest to the poorest- is needed.”

- “All of our tears are the same color”

Emphasizing that the way to turn this transformation in the world to the peoples’ advantage is via partnership and unity of power and the importance of PNB in this regard, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We need to make a new beginning and approach each other as partners in order to achieve world peace and stability. It is crucial for the welfare of all societies to construct a global structure based on trust and prosperity instead of on security and threat. For a prosperous tomorrow, we must construct axis of stability, not of evil.”

Stating that the number of LDCs (Least Developed Countries) in 1971 was 21 and increased to 48 in 2011, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The number of LDCs has not decreased. Quite the opposite, it has increased. The rich have become richer and the poor have become even poorer. We must fight together for a strong development, fairer distribution of wealth and a world of solidarity.”

Pointing out that there are things everyone must do to establish a world order based on justice not inequity, on conscience not gain, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We cannot live in peace while the countries right next to us are under oppression, while children in Somalia are starving to death. We cannot live in our glass palaces while our unemployed brother in Tunisia sets himself on fire. Remember, though our faces and eyes may be different the, color of our tears are all the same.”

- “Turkey has an important role in the new order”

Stating that Turkey has an important role in this new order, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on, “This new role will mean a new beginning for Turkey. In this process Turkey will become a global center of attraction in this many-polar world. Today, Turkey is the world’s 17th and Europe’s 6th largest economy. Turkey is the transformative power of the region. Turkey and Turkey’s entrepreneurs are ready for this new role. Therefore, it is very important for us to be together with PNB and its esteemed partners. We plan to further our relations with all PNB country entrepreneurs, not just with American entrepreneurs. I am confident that Turkey will become a center for entrepreneurship in the region with this vision.”

Stating that, beginning tomorrow, approximately a thousand entrepreneurs from the region and all over the world will be coming together in Istanbul; Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that it is proof that Turkey is a center for entrepreneurship in its region that the second Global Entrepreneurship Summit –the first of which was hosted by the USA President Obama in Washington D.C.- is being held in Istanbul.

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are scheduling the 5th of December for the Summit as TOBB. We will be conducting interesting sessions on role model entrepreneurs and Istanbul as an venture capital center.”

- “We will discover both America and our region”

Stating that as PNB Turkey, they have established a structure that represents all parts of civil society, Hisarcıklıoğlu related how they have gone local and included opinion leaders from four corners of the country in their board of directors.

Hisarcıklıoğlu, “We have taken steps to further our partnership with American entrepreneurs with whom we participated in activities with. We started off on many projects at the same time. We thought it best that our fastest growing entrepreneurs be noticed first. For this, we started the Turkey 25 Competition in partnership with the Harvard University. We picked the winners. We will be presenting the awards to Turkey’s fastest growing 25 companies tomorrow during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit.”

Stating that they have initiated a project to develop venture capital in Turkey and associate it with American funds, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “In this regard, we organized the venture capital companies operating in Turkey under TOBB and now we are beginning establish contact with American fund directors. We have also targeted university students. With the initiatives of Intel and TOBB Young Entrepreneurs Council, we are providing entrepreneurship training to university students. We let them come up with the business plan and then promote it. Our fourth project is being run by CISCO Turkey. The “Youth Movement in Informatics for Women” Project is providing informatics training to women.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Coca Cola Turkey is also running a project aimed at women living in the least developed parts of Istanbul to encourage entrepreneurship with aid and that they are organizing activities to promote cultural heritage via the “Heritage as a Bridge” run by the Brown and Koç Universities.

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We have initiated the Chamber Academy as TOBB. We have shared our knowledge and experiences to 22 high level chamber representatives from 20 Islamic countries during this year’s program. We have expanded our network in the region’s business world. We established Ankara Forum in order to bring together the business worlds of Palestine, Israel and Turkey. In this regard we plan on establishing an organized industry zone in Jenin and providing 10,000 Palestinians with employment.

Inspired by Ankara Forum, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they established Istanbul forum to do the same for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey, “At the moment, the first concrete project of this enterprise, is being worked on – the railroad which will connect Istanbul and Islamabad, Pakistan to Turkey and thus to Europe. We’ve waited until today to ‘be discovered’. From now on we will ‘discover’ America and our own region. We will work together with our partners in this discovery process.”

- Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General İhsanoğlu

Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu stated that OIC member states are searching for a political solution to the political problems present and that OIC has produced many concrete solutions with the USA and has developed its partnership.

İhsanoğlu stated that they have established an independent permanent commission to handle OIC’s problems in regards to human rights and that OIC is focusing on religious minorities and freedom of expression, stating that such freedoms bring with them various responsibilities.

- Coca Cola Vice President Malik

Coca Cola Vice President Afzaal Malik stated in his speech that work was continuing in Tunisia, Indonesia and Egypt and that their latest platforms have established the matter of economic growth and business opportunities in the Arab world and that they have started 70 initiatives.

Malik, “Partners for new beginnings is continuing its work to strengthen bonds, benefit economy, society and the environment. As our CEO Muhtar Kent has stated, we have established a triangle of support in this partnership. We wish to continue this partnership and deepen our impact in the coming year.”
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