Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The opening speeches of the summit were delivered by Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of Interior, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of TOBB, and Serdar Gökhan Arıkan, Chairman of the TOBB Turkish Private Security Services Council.

In his speech, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Ensuring the security of life and property is the responsibility of the state, and our state shares this responsibility with the members of the private security sector to complement public security.”

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the Ministry of Interior is working very meticulously and effectively to reduce crime rates and ensure public order, and emphasized that these efforts contribute greatly to the private security sector.

- “Private security officers share the responsibility of ensuring the security of life and property”

Addressing the employees of the private security sector, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that one of the most basic needs of human beings is security and said, “Ensuring the security of life and property is the responsibility of the state. However, as a natural consequence of technology, industrialization and economic growth, our state shares this responsibility with you, our valuable sector members, as a complement to public security. You take care of this trust like your own eyes. I thank you all for your efforts.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu also touched upon the impact of the sector on employment and said, “The size of the sector has reached 5 billion euros and 400,000 people have been employed. Therefore, while the private security sector provides preventive security services, it also supports the economy with its contribution to employment.” 

- The aim is to raise awareness of the private security week

Speaking about the meaning and importance of the program, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Today, we are here to raise awareness of the private security week together with all representatives of the sector. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Turkish Private Security Services Council and our council president Mr. Serdar Gökhan Arıkan. He has made and continues to make great efforts, especially the establishment of this Council, for the institutionalization of the sector and the growth and development of the sector as a whole, from employers to employees. Our council, which is the roof of the sector, is the best example of public and private sector cooperation with the leading private security companies and non-governmental organizations of our country. I would like to thank the General Directorate of Security for its contribution in this process.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu added that the private security services sector is one of the most employment-generating, widespread and interdisciplinary business lines in Türkiye:

“The sector wants to plan for the short, medium and long-term periods and to ensure that the profession is seen as a respectable and sustainable career field, not just a livelihood, to become a strong service industry and to pave the way for qualified service exports. We can realize these goals with your support and by acting together. Your presence here motivates us and shows the value of the sector. On this occasion, I would like to present a few issues that are important for our sector to the Minister. There is a need to improve the personal rights of the sector and to review social security practices. On the other hand, a structure in which specialized and academically equipped security personnel are trained will make a significant contribution to the security policies of our country. In order to ensure this structure, we consider it important to support private security trainings with undergraduate programs.”

- “Projects such as KAAN, ÖGNET and ÖZGE set an example for all sectors in our country”

Speaking about the auxiliary programs and projects in the private security services sector, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Projects such as KAAN, ÖGNET and ÖZGE demonstrate the power of this structure. When these projects come together, they are proof of how a public service, more importantly a public service related to public security, becomes value-added. Thanks to these projects, our private security personnel make the necessary notifications to law enforcement agencies with a single click. They are instrumental in instantly summoning law enforcement officers to forensic cases. These projects set an example for all sectors in our country.”

- Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya

Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya said, “A secure Türkiye means a stronger economy, more investment, more employment, more welfare. In this sense, our goal of a terror-free Türkiye is not only a security but also an economic and social milestone.”

In his speech at the Private Security Summit organized at TOBB in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Security, Directorate of Private Security Supervision and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) Türkiye Private Security Services Sector Council, Yerlikaya stated that TOBB Türkiye Sector Councils is a strategic structure that unites the voices of the sectors, increases their strength and enables the development of public and private sector cooperation.

Stating that the momentum achieved through this platform plays an important role in solving the problems of the sectors and taking strong steps towards the future, Yerlikaya underlined that “there can be no development without security.”

“If there is no security, there is no investment, there is no production, there is no peace,” said Yerlikaya, emphasizing that Türkiye's peace and security is one of the main pillars of the vision of Türkiye's Century, which was realized under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Stating that Türkiye has experienced a radical change in its understanding of security in the last 23 years, Yerlikaya said:

“From defense industry to border security, from public order to intelligence and cyber security, a great breakthrough and a great reform has been realized in many areas. Today, Türkiye has become a deterrent in its region and a respected security power in the world.

With our defense industry, which has a localization rate exceeding 80 percent, we have become able to produce our own technology in many areas from unmanned aerial vehicles to armored carriers, radar systems to artificial intelligence-based security infrastructures. Hopefully, our new generation jet fighter aircraft KAAN, which will be the survival power of the future, will start to soar in the sky as soon as possible, just like BAYRAKTAR, ANKA, HÜRKUŞ and HÜRJET, GÖKBEY and ATAK.”

- Serdar Gökhan Arıkan, President of the Private Security Services Council

Serdar Gökhan Arıkan, President of TOBB Türkiye Private Security Services Council, also gave information about their activities. As of today, there are 1,328 private security companies, 608 private security training institutions, 66 alarm monitoring centers and more than 100,000 places with private security permits, Arıkan said, noting that 383,221 private security officers are actively working in these places.

Pointing out that private security services are no longer just about physical security, Arıkan made the following assessments:

“The KAAN application has strengthened the coordination between general law enforcement and private security by providing private security officers with the opportunity to intervene effectively in their areas of duty, and has created an exemplary public-private sector cooperation model. Until yesterday, transactions related to private security were carried out with physical documents to the governorships, but today, thanks to the ÖGNET system, we can carry out these transactions digitally at any time of the day. With the ÖZGE project, which will be launched in the near future, a new era will begin in the field of private security. With this project, not only basic security training, but also branch-based specialization trainings specific to the field of duty will be provided, and the human resources in the sector will be shaped on the axis of education-based expertise instead of personal competence.”

General General Ali Çardakcı, Commander of the Gendarmerie General Command, and Mahmut Demirtaş, Director General of the Turkish National Police, also participated in the program.