Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The 59^th General Assembly of the ICC Turkey National Committee was held at the TOBB İstanbul Service Building. Elected alongside Hisarcıklıoğlu at the ICC Turkey National Committee were TOBB Board Treasurer Faik Yavuz, Ziraat Bank General Director Hüseyin Aydın, Adana Commodity Exchange Board Chairman Muammer Çalışkan, Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Suat Hacısalihoğlu and Balıkesir Chamber of Industry President İsmail Uğur were elected as Vice Presidents.

Speaking at the opening of the General Assembly, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, stating that the ICC forms the business rules accepted worldwide, and that as ICC Turkey they are providing training in order to introduce the Turkish business community to these rules.

Stating that ICC Board of Directors will convene on the 6^th and 7^th of March in Turkey, Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that many of the business world’s leaders such as Harold McGraw, CEO of McGraw Hill which encompasses Standard and Poor; European Vice President of Rothschild Gerard Worms; Qatar Chamber of Commerce President Mohammad Al-Thani; Bank of China Aviation Board of Directors President Yanling Zhang and President and founder of Bharti Enterprise, one of India’s leading business groups, Sunil Mittal would be attending this meeting.

- We must bring distant markets closer

Hisarcıklıoğlu -emphasizing that the Turkish business community needs to focus on distant markets- said, “It is within our power to leap ahead, to burst out in exports in 2014. With the right strategy, exports and foreign investments can become the driving force behind growth. To do this, we must first focus on distant markets instead of those in our region.

Our average export radius is 2,846 km. That means we conduct business as far as France in the west and Kazakhstan in the east, Moscow in the north and Yemen in the south. However our rivals are running laps around us. Mexico’s average export radius is 4,574 km; Korea’s 6,651 km; China’s 6,884 km and Brazil’s is 10,251 km. This means that we must bring distant markets closer. That is why we need new partners.”

- Board of 20 people elected

During the General Assembly, the election of ICC Turkey’s Board of Directors comprised of 20 people was also conducted. Representing member companies, General Director Hüseyin Aydın for Ziraat Bank, Koç Holding CEO Turgay Durak, Turkey Şişecam Board President Ahmet Kırman, Kent Kart Board President Mazhar Basmacı and Galatasaray University faculty member and ICC Arbitration Council Member Prof. Dr. Ziya Akıncı were elected.

Representing TOBB and chambers-exchanges; TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, TOBB Board Treasurer Faik Yavuz, Balıkesir Chamber of Industry (SO) President İsmail Uğur,  Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TSO) President Suat Hacısalihoğlu, Siirt TSO President Güven Kuzu, Sinop TSO President Erol Derici, Isparta TSO President Şükrü Başdeğirmen,  Afyonkarahisar TSO President Hüsnü Serteser, Çorlu TSO President Enis Sülün, Bucak TSO President Hasan Yalçın Meçikoğlu, Mersin Commodity Exchange (TB) President Ömer Abdullah Özdemir, Adana TB President Muammer Çalışkan,  Nizip TB President İbrahim Sarı,  Ankara TB Council member İbrahim Öztürk and TOBB Secretary General Mustafa Saraçöz were elected.