Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Stating that the power of the entrepreneurial middle class dictates the power of wealth, democracy and stability, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Strengthening entrepreneurship is critical for the region. Oil and gas fail to bring wealth to the people. They do not spread wealth among the masses; they do not ensure stability. The real wealth of countries is to be found above the ground rather than under it. Transformation is necessary in every economy in the region, from the richest to the poorest. We must cultivate strong entrepreneurs. These kinds of entrepreneurs require the necessary eco-system to thrive.”

Stating that peace will bring trade; that trade will bring prosperity, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This is the formula behind Turkey’s great leap forward in the last 10 years. The way to turn this transformation to the benefit of the people throughout the world is through partnership and the unification of power.”

Explaining that PNB and its partners have undersigned a very important enterprise, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We aim to improve the relations with the entrepreneurs in PNB countries. In this regard, we also hope to become the center of entrepreneurship in the region. We are at an important turning point in the history of the world. For the first time in history, the sum of the national incomes of developing countries has surpassed that of developed countries.

Advances in logistics and information technologies are changing the economic structure, as well as the production and distribution processes in the world. The opportunity to turn this transformation to the benefit of the people lies in partnership and the unity of power.

It is clearly apparent from this meeting of the representatives of 14 countries, Europe and the Quartet on the Middle East that the seeds we planted have begun to grow. I would like to first congratulate the primary architect of this enterprise, Mrs. Albright. She has shown that she is a statesperson of vision and foresight once again. She has given us courage and confidence in taking this step.”

- Entrepreneurs are the most precious commodity of an economy

Stating that everyone accepts the fact that Entrepreneurs are the most precious commodity of an economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the PNB enterprise which has been launched is important in regards to both economy and history and went on:

“Thirty years ago, Turkey was trying to survive behind closed doors, away from competition. Thirty years ago, Turkey had no influence in any field, a prisoner to its economic fears.

Today, we have the most developed private sector in the region as well as the most powerful industrial production capacity.

We export over 20,000 types of goods to over 200 countries. Our construction contractors are building projects everywhere – from Siberia at 40 degrees minus Celsius to the deserts of Africa at 40 sweltering degrees Celsius. They have achieved a work load surpassing that of the last 40 years in the last 4 years. In regards to the number of large companies we are in second position, right behind China. As a result of the investments made our private sector, our tourism sector has leapt to the 6^th place in the world. Our tourism income has reached 32 billion USD from 300 million USD in 30 years. We are in 7^th position in the world in regards to agricultural produce – 1^st in Europe. We are also number 1 in regards to land transportation in Europe.

How did we achieve all this? By developing the private sector, by opening up to competition and integrating with the world.”

- Palestine notes

Having visited Palestine the previous week, Hisarcıklıoğlu provided information regarding the Jerusalem Arbitration Center, of which he is the president, and the Jenin Organized Industry Zone investments.

“Through the kindness of the Palestine and Israel business communities, we have taken historical steps. We have established a joint arbitration mechanism. I was invited to be its president and accepted this responsibility gladly. Now, we are working together with my Palestinian brother, Zahi. We also brought to life a project we’ve been working on for the last 8 years. We have begun the construction of an organized industry zone in Jenin, Palestine. With it, we will provide employment to 6,000 people in Palestine which has an unemployment ratio of 40%. The fact that it took 8 years to begin this project should be a lesson in itself for us. We must better the investment environment in our region. Investment means employment. Employment means more income. More income means higher buying power. That means the growth of companies. The World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ study which spans 189 countries should our reference to better the investment environment in our countries.

Our endeavor to being trilateral talks with Israel and Palestine has been expanded with the Middle East Trade Center Project; in addition to the US Chambers and TOBB, private sector organizations from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Israel are also developing this endeavor. It will begin operations in the first quarter of 2014 from İstanbul. Our fields of activity will encompass private economic zones, entrepreneurship, trade corridors, energy and tourism. With the inspiration we’ve gained from this project in Palestine, we’ve brought together the business communities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey.

We are working on a project to connect İstanbul to İslamabad; Pakistan to Turkey, and from there, to Europe via rail. All of these projects show that Turkey is the transformative power of the region. That is why it is very important for us to be together with PNB and its partners. We plan to develop our relations with entrepreneurs from PNB countries.

In this regard, we want to be the center of entrepreneurship in the region.”

- “A strong private sector enhances the democracy culture”

Stating that a strong private sector enhances the democracy culture, TOBB and PNB Turkey President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu spoke about the projects they’ve undertaken as TOBB to share their experiences in the region.

“As TOBB, we have undertaken projects to build capacity in the country chamber along with the Islamic Development Bank. This is because chambers are the heart of the business community and the main representation mechanism.

We are providing training to the secretary generals of 57 Islamic country chambers. We are helping the region’s chambers to provide better service. This way, we will ensure that the institutions and persons with whom we will be conducting business with speak the same language.”

Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan stated that Turkey has achieved great successes in the field of economics and the reforms they conducted have proven to be an example to the countries in the region.

Attending the meeting via video link, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the youth want to take on roles in the global process and to take advantage of opportunities offered by it.

Former US Secretary of State and PNB President Madeleine Albright stated that they are working to create jobs and assist investments and provided information regarding the projects they have undertaken. Also speaking during the meeting was the US State Ministry Global Partners Special Representative Andrew O’Brien.

The Summit which will take place at the İstanbul Hilton will be attended by the coordinating representatives of Turkey, USA, Georgia, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine, Mauritania, Libya, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Greece as the EU and the Quartet on the Middle East.