Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Speaking at the opening of the summit, TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that this is a vista which all of Turkey can be proud of, “Today, in this hall, are the prominent traders, industrialists, directors and entrepreneurs of our country who direct our real sectors, ensure the growth of the economy, employment and exports. Standing before us is a vista all of Turkey can be proud of. It is this community which enabled Turkey to leave the global crisis behind. We’ve left the pre-crisis levels of investment, production, employment and exports well behind us.”

Emphasizing that their goal is to keep up performance and progress, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We want Turkey to be among the top ten economies of the world in 2023. We want to be active in all corners of the world with our national brands, to fly our flag. We want there to be a product made in Turkey in every household in the world. We believe that we can achieve this.

- We have exceeded our goals

Reminding that they put forth goals as the Turkish private sector at the TOBB General Assembly in 2002, the TOBB President said, “When we said our exports would exceed 100 billion USD in 2010 and personal income would reach 10,000 USD, there were those who found these goals to be unachievable.

However, we Turkish entrepreneurs knew our strength. At the end, not only did we achieve both goals but exceeded them. The people in this hall and the great community they represent showed our enterprising spirit to the whole world. I heartily believe that the dynamism of our enterprising people will carry to forward.”

- Two basic approaches

“When pursuing 2023 goals, we should adopt two basic approaches,” said Hisarcıklıoğlu, “The first, we must preserve our high employment providing sectors. Construction, textile-confection, iron-steel, retail, tourism, food and many traditional sectors are indispensable for us. However, we must focus on rising to a higher production chain in these sectors.

The second basic approach is to be active in the sectors of the future, e.g. biotechnology, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. The global system we know and are familiar with is changing. The economies we knew to be strong are in upheaval, structures which seem strong are crumbling.”

- “We must seize upon this process well”

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu, emphasizing that while countries to the West struggle with economic crises; countries to the South and East are rocked by political upheaval; we must seize upon this time of preoccupation by all parties well.

Stating that there is a brand new window of opportunity, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “To our West is the largest consumer market, Europe; to our East is the largest production market, Asia. There are enormous energy resources to the North and South. A new window of opportunity is opening up in front of us. This is geographical advantage: Consider this in combination with a strong physical and demographic infrastructure; a business- and investment-friendly legislation; our dynamic entrepreneurs. Working together as the business community and public administration, we can win out at the end of this painful period.”

- We did not just recite the problems; we put forth suggestions for solutions

“That is why we have come together,” said the TOBB President and went on, “Our report detailing the problems of 60 sectors and the solution suggestions for the problems thereof is an undertaking the like of which has not been seen in Turkey. As someone who has played a role as a director in every international institution formed by the private sector between the Atlantic and Pacific, I can easily state that there is no undertaking equal to this throughout the world.

We did not just recite the problems; we put forth suggestions for solutions and identified the relevant institutions. After this meeting, the problems and solution suggestions of 60 sectors will be individually delivered to the public administration institutions, tailored in the manner in which these matters concern said institutions. I heartily congratulate the council presidents and members who have contributed to this work.

From time to time, I see something:  We put unnecessary importance on reports made by foreign institutions which are superficial and not actually relevant to the realities of Turkey. This is the real work we should be focusing on and giving attention to. It is my hope that this undertaking will provide a roadmap to a stronger economy, not just for the private sector, but the public administration as well.

As the main mechanisms of representation of the Turkish private sector, we, the Chambers, Exchanges and Sector Councils, will follow the developments in this regard closely.”

Following President Hisarcıklıoğlu’s speech, the Prime Minister Deputy Ali Babacan and the Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı also gave speeches stressing the importance of the project and its implications.
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