Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Speaking at the meeting, ICC Turkey and TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Turkey is in a key position to defend the interest of G20 in East Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia noted that about 40 businessmen from over 10 countries were in attendance today.

Hisarcıklıoğlu, recalling that the crisis which occurred in the Euro zone while the world was trying to recover from the economic crisis of 2008 has reached levels high enough to start affecting other countries, said, “At this point, we feel the need for platforms such as the G20 who will shoulder the pioneering duty of solving such global economic problems. The increasing importance of G20 is not just related to the crisis. The process of globalization which we’ve been living through during the last 20-30 years has rendered countries dependent on each other. We are no longer in an era when there can be independent solutions to global problems. For this reason, the works of the ICC which has seized the initiative are all the more important. Along with B20, they have become suppliers of content for the World Economic Forum. I, as a member of the B20 Employment Task Force, will be presenting all suggestions brought forth here to the agenda of the B20. We will be relaying our views on various matters to the B20 platform via ICC as well.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they expect leaders to reach a common solution with the point the global crisis has reached and went on, “The worst possible solution is better than no solution. Especially European leaders must find a definitive solution instead of ignoring the issue or procrastinating. The most important problem of today is the growth and employment issue. This can be addressed by the private sector. For the private sector to provide investment and employment, trust is a fundamental condition. However, the situation we are in does not engender confidence in the private sector. As Turkey, we have overcome this obstacle. With the engendering of trust, our employment during the recovery period has increased by 3.5 million. We issue a call to leaders: Showing the wisdom to build up trust is the best service you can provide to your voters. Rapidly increasing world population is bringing with it increased demand for sustenance. However, the world food production is unable to meet this demand.

The middle class in developing Asian countries has tripled in only 18 years between 1990 and 2008. This means 2 billion new customers buying groceries. We need to increase efficiency in agricultural production. I call for the business world to focus on and take advantage of the opportunities of the agriculture and livestock sectors. We must on the one hand increase agricultural productivity while also battling the threat of chronic hunger.”

- “One of the most important points in the G20 summit agenda is green growth”

Stating that the leaders of G20 should not forget that the disaster being played out in the countries battling hunger are a direct result of the policies of these G20 leaders, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “One of the most important points in the G20 summit agenda is green growth. We believe that the subject of green growth should be handled separately from climate change. As G20, our goal should be growth and employment. Environmentally friendly solutions are a godsend for this. Increased growth and employment in the short term and a greener world for our children in the long run can be achieved by transferring public funds into this field. We say ‘bring in investments, reduce unemployment’. Then, we are faced with the problem of corruption. As Turkish entrepreneurs, we demand global standards for fight against corruption. Governments should be persuaded to become party to the UN and OECD’s Campaign Against Corruption Pacts. If we can achieve this, investments will also increase.”

- ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier

Carrier stated that they will be determining their policy proposals for the G20 Leaders’ Summit to be held in June in Mexico from among their partners like those who attend the meeting today, “Our goal is to provide solutions to the problems governments face. We see the need to increase long term employment globally in order to combat the present economic crisis.

Stating that they have achieved an open, honest and practical dialog during this meeting, Carrier said, “Neighboring countries have also attended this meeting. We will compile these views and present them as proposals during the G20 policy process. We may be able to constructively and positively affect the decisions of our choosing. Coming to Turkey and İstanbul for this consultation meeting holds an extraordinary importance. Turkey is among the leaders of the future as a developing country. It was very important to take into account the views of the business community here.”
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