Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech at the ceremony, Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that Sakarya is the pride of Türkiye with its production and exports, “Sakarya is a city that produces 972 of 4,000 different industrial products. We export 6 billion dollars to 120 countries, and we sell goods from Sakarya to countries such as England, France, Spain, Italy, where the whole world wants to sell goods.” Hisarcıklıoğlu said that this is the most concrete indicator of how competitive the products originating from Sakarya are.

Pointing out that Sakarya is among the top 3 provinces in Türkiye in terms of production capacity in 231 products, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Sakarya has the highest production capacity in Türkiye in 73 products from food to transportation vehicles such as caravans, railway freight wagons, tractors, rotary converters, biofuels, roasted shelled hazelnuts. Sakarya alone accounts for a quarter of Türkiye's vehicle production and exports. Three quarters of the vehicles produced here are sold abroad. In other words, the whole world knows the labor, hard work and quality of Sakarya.”

Stating that one of the chances of Sakarya is that it has a chamber of commerce and industry that represents the private sector properly, TOBB President noted the following: “I also follow with appreciation that our Chamber, by increasing its service capacity and quality day by day, interpreting the problems of our members and making every effort to solve their problems. Together with our President Akgün Altuğ, our Chamber works like a project factory and brings permanent works to Sakarya. The Center of Excellence, which is shown as an example to Türkiye, SATSO academy, which focuses on improving the competitive capabilities of our members, Sakarya kitchen academy that introduces Sakarya Cuisine, KobiGem platform that facilitates trade, Sakarya Industry Master Plan, which offers a roadmap for qualified production, Arbitration and Mediation Center for the solution of commercial problems, are just a few of them.

Again, our Chamber launched the One Stop Office system to facilitate the business and transactions of our merchants and industrialists. It enabled our members to access all the services they need from a single center. All this is a work of vision. It is the work of a modern management approach that aims to provide the best service to its members and enrich its city.

Our Chamber is also a class A accredited chamber. In other words, it has documented that it offers the same quality of service as the best chambers in Europe. I sincerely congratulate our President Altuğ, his Administration, Assembly, professional committees, Secretary General and all our working brothers and sisters for this vision”.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that there is another picture that makes him proud and said, “Our governor, mayor and deputy governor are together, they have joined hands for Sakarya. It is this unity and solidarity that makes Sakarya a brand city. I work together with all the Chamber and Commodity Exchange Presidents in Sakarya in Ankara. We consult all regulations related to business life and trade with them and determine our policies. I would also like to thank all the Chamber and Commodity Exchange Presidents of Sakarya for this service understanding.”

- Other speakers

Yaşar Karadeniz, Governor of Sakarya, said that people who produce in many different sectors, develop businesses and open up to the world market constitute the driving force of the country today.

Explaining that Türkiye has a rising profile in the national and international arena with its progressive democracy, developing economy, strong army and rich human resources, Karadeniz noted that Türkiye is a country that looks to the future with confidence and hope by raising its standards in every field with its industrial facilities, universities, highways, huge developments in education and health, achievements in agriculture and tourism, modern urbanization practices.

Mr. Ekrem Yüce, Mayor of Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality, pointed out the importance of domestic and national production and noted that the “Century of Türkiye” will continue to be the century of production and Sakarya will continue to provide the necessary support to this process.

SATSO Chairman Akgün Altuğ also stated that they are the 13^th province that contributes the most to Türkiye's economy by growing with production in their 106-year history.

Pointing to the need to build an economy that is compatible with the requirements of the new world and can compete on a global scale, Altuğ said: “We are in a period of serious ruptures, increased competition, changing balances of power and reshaping the geopolitical equation. Especially the ongoing war and unjust attacks in Gaza are unacceptable. No cause in which innocent people die is justified. As humanity, we are living in a period when we cannot look into the eyes of children and when we run out of words.”

Pointing out that Sakarya is ready to take its resources and values to the next level by producing more than it consumes, Altuğ noted that the economic performance of the province has drawn a very positive picture despite all the negativities experienced.

Stating that they ranked 7^th in exports and 11^th in imports and foreign trade volume, Altuğ said, “In the first 10 months of the year, we created a foreign trade surplus of 1.685 billion dollars, and the ratio of exports to imports is 151 percent. With this value, we rank 3^rd in Türkiye. At the point we have reached today, we export production and services all over the world. In 11 months, we exported over 5 billion dollars to 169 different countries.”

Following the speeches, plaques and gifts were presented to the business people and companies that were deemed worthy of the award.