Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Attending the Turkey opening meeting of the T20 (Think 20) as a part of Turkey’s G20 Term Presidency were TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Prime Minister Deputy Ali Babacan and İstanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) Chairman İbrahim Çağlar at the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce Meeting Hall.

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that a new perspective on the global governance model is necessary, pointing out the importance of the G20 process to this end.

Stating that G20 is a mechanism which came into being when 8 countries failed to govern the world, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that he views G20 as an attempt to acclimate to the new world and that they support this step in the right direction.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that financial markets are presently in an intricate state and mistakes in the decisions made can open the gates to great calamity.

Despite all of these problems, the global economy is in a better state than it was previously said Hisarcıklıoğlu and went on to point out that this was only the beginning of the road.

- We want lower credit interest rates

Emphasizing the need to implement a strategy to decrease loans on a global scale in the medium term, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “However, we businessmen will face much graver issues in the short term. The global economy is transitioning to a new monetary policy.” Pointing to the policies implemented by Fed and various European central banks, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This is a very extraordinary situation for us.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu also spoke in regards to the other effects of these new policies such as the drop in petroleum prices, the question of how to raise interest rates in the US, lowering interest rates in Turkey in order to achieve desired growth rate as well as preserving the economy from fluctuations in the global economy.”

- Global coordination mechanisms needed

M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that all of these clearly reveal how widespread these uncertainties in the global economy are.

Stating that the solution to these problems require global coordination mechanisms, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “G20 is first among these. We must find ways to best utilize the G20 while at the same time discovering ways to activate other international coordination mechanisms.”

- TEPAV, one of the most prominent organizations of the world

The Term President of the T20, TEPAV surfaced in just such a time, reported Hisarcıklıoğlu and went on to state that after deliberation and research they’ve come to the conclusion that a specialized think tank in designing economic policy is of the utmost importance.

Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed his hope that discussion on new international governance mechanisms would present new avenues of approach in the future.