Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

At the meeting organized with the theme of “A New Period of Social and Economic Development in Azerbaijan,” the Turkish world business community said that Azerbaijan is ready to provide all kinds of support that may be needed in the future for the development of its territory saved from occupation and that it supports Azerbaijani brothers on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Turkic CCI and TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said in a speech here that they strongly condemn Armenia's attacks on Azerbaijani civilians.

Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed pride in the Turkic world for the progress made by the Azerbaijani army against the invading forces, “Armenia's aggressive attitude and invasion of Azerbaijani territory is unacceptable. This unjust occupation must end. I invite the whole world to say 'stop' to the Armenian attacks. We, as the Turkish business community, will continue to stand by and support Azerbaijan in this rightful case.”

Reminding that the member countries of the Turkic Council have a population of more than 150 million people and a national income of 1.5 trillion dollars, Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that with the natural resources of the Turkish world, it has become an important economic power in its geography and it is important to evaluate this power.

Wishing victory to the Azerbaijani army under the command of Ilham Aliyev, who heroically resisted and repelled the Armenian attacks, mercy to the martyrs, rapid recovery for veterans, Hisarcıklıoğlu wished patience to the people of brother Azerbaijan, thanked Memmed Musayev, who invited them for a meeting of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the President of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Economy, Ambassador Bagdat Amreyev, The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kyrgyzstan, Marat Sharqeyev, and Adham Ikramov, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, and Ablay Myrzahhmetov, President of Kazakhstan’s National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, who attended via video conference.

- We have arrived from Turkey with a large delegation

Noting that they came to Azerbaijan with a delegation consisting of the confederation of leading workers' and civil servants' unions from Turkey, the confederation of employers' unions, the confederation of trades chambers, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We wanted to emphasize our support to Azerbaijan in every environment.

The heads of the organizations I mentioned are also conducting their talks with their counterparts in Azerbaijan.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu also mentioned that they have made significant headway for the institutionalization process of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “We have reached the final point in our work with the Ministry of Interior. Hopefully soon, the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry will become a structure with a legal entity. We have allocated a suitable size space for the secretariat in the TOBB Istanbul office. In this process I would like to thank everyone who supported it, especially Ambassador Amreyev.”

M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that he was proud and delighted by the progress shown by the Azerbaijani army and emphasized that he believes Azerbaijan will triumph and that Karabakh will be liberated.

- Armenia's attacks are crimes against humanity

Armenia's invasion of Upper Karabakh and its attacks targeting civilians are a crime against humanity contrary to international law, Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “Armenia's aggressive attitude and invasion of Azerbaijani territory is unacceptable. This unjust occupation must end. I invite the whole world to say 'stop' to the Armenian attacks.  We, the Turkish business community, will continue to stand with Azerbaijan in this righteous cause. Under Mr. Aliyev's leadership, Azerbaijan has achieved significant economic success. The economy is developing rapidly, offering attractive business and investment opportunities to investors. According to the World Bank's “Doing Business 2020” report, Azerbaijan has risen to 34^th place among the economy of 190 countries. The concept and policies set by Mr. Aliyev changed the face of Azerbaijan. Baku has become one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. It has become the commercial and cultural center of the region, a tourist destination. As the Turkish world, we are proud of this stunning progress made by Azerbaijan.”

- Hisarcıklıoğlu explained the opportunities for cooperation in trade and economy

“We must increase our mutual trade and investments. Unfortunately, despite all the well-intentioned initiatives, our countries are still not sufficiently connected. Our transportation infrastructure is lacking physically as well as in legislative terms.  Essentially, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line is an important opportunity to reduce logistical obstacles and reduce costs. With this line, the trade route between our countries has been unified. However, we also know that this alone is not enough. Transportation costs in the Caspar Corridor need to be reduced. To do this, we must demand it from our Governments as a business community.

We're right in the middle of the historic Silk Road. We need to use the Middle Corridor more actively for our transports to Central Asia and beyond. This corridor will give us a cost advantage in every way. We must turn the Caspian Sea into the sea that unites us, not what separates us. In this context, we should spread the transport lines between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan at regular and competitive prices. Our region holds a very important part of the world's hydro-carbon resources. Hopefully, with reserves in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean, our resources will be even richer.  On the other hand, if we look at the trade of members of the Turkish Council with the world, the trade volume last year (including Turkmenistan) is 580 billion Dollars. As a result of the outbreak, we expect a loss of 20% for 2020. In 2021, we hope to increase it again. As members of the Turkic Council, we are not satisfied with the volume of trade among us. With the steps we will take in the field of production, marketing and logistics, we have the opportunity to significantly increase the trade among us. Essentially, we should aim for more in trade and investments between our countries. To do this, we need to make the investment environment more investor-friendly.”

- Trade is the key to wealth

Turkish entrepreneurs and Turkic Council member countries have investments of close to $17 billion, said Turkic CCI and TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu, in the same way, the investments of member countries of the Turkic CCI in Turkey are around 20 billion Dollars. In this total, Azerbaijan has a very important share, Hisarcıklıoğlu noted, “Tens of thousands of people are provided with these investments. We also have serious initiatives in the service sector. Last year, the President of Uzbekistan, Mr. Shevket Mirziyoyev, received me and my brother Adhem. He urged us to establish a university in Tashkent as the TOBB University of Economics and Technology.  Even at the peak of the epidemic, my brother Ethem and I worked very hard. We finished our work in a very short time. Our university is operational in Tashkent. I congratulate my brother Adhem Iramov, who was appointed by the President as the first rector of the university.  I'm following him; he's very interested in the students. May Allah grant him a clear path. On the other hand, our contractors undertook more than 1000 projects worth a total of $40 billion in member countries of the Turkic Council.  They have successfully completed numerous prestigious projects.  Hopefully, we will continue to undertake successful projects together in the coming period.”

M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that there will be no peace and wealth without trade. We need to encourage our governments to do so. Let's clear the way for trade. Let the goods and the people walk freely.”

- Other speakers

Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov also gave information on Azerbaijan’s economy in his speech, while also stressing the importance of increasing trade.

Jabbarov pointed to the importance of the solidarity shown, saying that cooperation in the economy could be enlarged.

Amreyev, Secretary General of the Turkic Council, said the countries of the Turkic Council have so far shown strong solidarity and cooperation in the face of difficulties.

“This solidarity is above any appreciation,” Amreyev said, confirming their sensitivity to solidarity with sister Azerbaijan with all elements of the member states.

Amreyev stressed that the meeting was a badge of growing awareness of brotherhood and developing relations between the countries of the Turkic Council, and noted that the Turkish business community has shown the world that it is with its Azerbaijani brothers on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Cabbarov, Turkic Council Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Ramiz Hasanov, Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and officials of the Chambers of Commerce of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan attended the meeting.

In the meeting; Turkic Council Secretary General, Ambassador Baghdad Amreyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ramiz Hasanov, President of the Confederation of Owners of Azerbaijan Memmed Musayev, Kyrgyzstan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Marat Sharşekeyev and Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Adham Ikramov also gave speeches. Ablay Myrzahhmetov, President of Kazakhstan’s National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, was connected to the meeting via video conference.