Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

- Visit to the Education Minister Ömer Dinçer

The TOBB Board Delegation with Hisarcıklıoğlu presiding made their first visit to the Education Minister Ömer Dinçer. After introducing the members of the Delegation, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu wished Ömer Dinçer well. Expressing his gratitude for the visit and the well wishes, Minister Dinçer thanked the TOBB President and the Board of Directors for their consideration.

- Prime Minister Deputy Ali Babacan

The second stop for the TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu and Board members was Prime Minister Deputy Ali Babacan.
TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “You have become a brand domestically and internationally. Your respectability and prestige has become a source of pride for us.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that in the coming days one of the most important topics would be the constitution and economy should not be forgotten despite differences of opinion.

M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu spoke, “We must not forget about the economy because the days ahead are full of turmoil. While our neighbors suffer political upheaval our biggest market, Europe, has financial trouble brewing. That the market which is the target for 50% of our exports is shrinking means we can hardly expect to be unaffected. We must think rationally and prepare.”
Putting emphasis on structural reforms, Hisarcıklıoğlu wished Babacan success in his work.

- Latest developments in Europe

Prime Minister Deputy Ali Babacan assessed the latest developments in Europe, expressing his hope that the problems would be solved in the short term on a permanent basis, “Otherwise a situation similar to 2008-2009 will be faced. We are in a time where we have to be very careful regarding economic policy.”
Evaluating the current deficit which has reached 37.3 billion dollars, Babacan said, “The latest announced values are what we predicted before the election, so comes as no surprise. The current deficit will continue as it is for a while but in the last quarter we expect a more acceptable and different trend.

It should not come as a surprise if further unpleasantness occurs in Europe. The risk factors have reached an all time high. We’ve instructed our institutions about 3 months ago to be prepared in the event of an economic upheaval.”

- Visit to the Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan

TOBB Board of Directors’ third stop was the Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan. TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed his pleasure with Çağlayan’s new duty as the Economy Minister.

Saying that Çağlayan would be the best person to understand the business world’s troubles, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Çağlayan has brought a new vision to the private sector and the government and went on, “We are very pleased with you. We see your success as our success. Your success is our success.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they were ready to work together to the best of their abilities for a strategy that would open up Turkey to the world.

Çağlayan stated that TOBB’s Export Focused Production Strategy would be of tremendous help with the 30% missing performance in exporting and in production. Reminding that they have assessed 73 countries and 1243 sectors with the New Routes in Foreign Trade program, Minister Çağlayan stated that these 73 countries make up 95% of global exports and went on, “Exporting 135 billion dollars’ worth while we lack 30% performance means we could be exporting another 40 billion dollars however you look at it. Unfortunately we didn’t know which countries Turkey could export to. That is not the case anymore, our route is drawn up and ready.”

- Current deficit issue

Assessing the current deficit issue, Çağlayan spoke, “Two thirds of the world has current deficit. If we can successfully continue our work, which we must, we will achieve our goal. We hope to talk about current account surplus instead of deficit as Turkey. We have planned 80% coverage of imports by exports for the Turkey of 2023. Thankfully we have an account surplus in the service sector, this is one of our strengths in balancing accounts and we can increase it easily.”

- Offer of close cooperation with TOBB

Çağlayan made an offer of close cooperation to Hisarcıklıoğlu for TOBB and the Ministry of Economy, expressing his wish for the Ministry to work closely with TOBB on matters of current account deficit, investment stimulation as well as encouraging foreign capital to invest in Turkey.

Stating that they have been working on the chemical, textile, agriculture and food sectors, Çağlayan said that 6 sectors in Turkey import a total of 30 billion dollars worth of intermediary goods and that TOBB can appreciate the significance of this better than him.

- Issue of severance pay

TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, in answer to a reporter’s question asking for his opinion on the Severance Pay Fund and flexible work method, said “We agree wholly with the principles set in our government’s agenda severance pay and flexible work method.”

Stating that governments would be competing just like private companies in the upcoming term, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on, “If you cannot produce, you suffer the same consequences our neighbors are afflicted with right now.” Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the most alarming problem ahead of Turkey will be the financial upheaval in Europe.
Saying that important lessons must be learned from these countries, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on;

“If we do not garner lessons from the situation we may face catastrophe. We cannot hope to propagate a system France, Germany, Italy and Greece are trying to phase out. This is why your support on this is so important. You can’t do anything without production. That’s why you have to be competitive in your production without falling below global standards. This is on the government’s itinerary and we fully support it.

- Visit to the Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and the members of the TOBB Board of Directors’ next visit was to the Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek. After the introductions, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed wishes for success in the term ahead. As all their ministerial visits, the TOBB President presented Minister Şimşek with sweets. Mehmet Şimşek thanked the TOBB Administration for their visit.

- Visit to the Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı

Visiting the Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı in his office, the TOBB Administration congratulated and wished him well.

Hisarcıklıoğlu spoke, “With your work in the past term you profited the Turkish exporters 430 million dollars in 1 year. The wait time has decreased from four hours to one, making transportation cheaper thus increasing the profits of the Turkish exporter. This enables us to compete on better terms and we thank you for it.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that as 365 chambers and exchanges, they are ready to work closely with the Ministry in the coming days and are ready to provide any support whether it be about customs or the revitalization of commerce.

In addition, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the licensed storage and the product expertise exchanges system were a revolutionary implementation.

Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı stated that TOBB represents the most important structural institution of finance and commerce in Turkey; as the Ministry and the government, they have had good relations with it in shared goals and the benefit of Turkey.

Stating that one of the first instances of the implementation of licensed storage has been signed yesterday, Yazıcı reported that they had signed the relevant permits for licensed storage and product expertise exchanges system, “The implementation of the licensed storage is of the utmost importance in regards to Turkey’s economy, product safety, protection of the consumer’s and producer’s rights.”

- Visit to the Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım

After introductions, Hisarcıklıoğlu thanked Minister Yıldırım for his work on behalf of the Turkish business world, “You have facilitated our transportation. I could produce all I wanted but without good transportation it was pointless. That is why your service has been greatly appreciated. We wish you success again in your new term.”

Transportation Minister Yıldırım stated that they had accomplished many good works together with TOBB, saying, “Industry and commerce a like finger and nail with transportation. We have to get what we produce to the consumer. Global competition is very much in effect now. You are competing with the world in terms of both time and price.

In this term, we will complete the missing corridors in our transportation network. Public administration has a liability to produce resources. If we want to meet the 2023 goals the demand for transportation must double. This requires a doubling of the infrastructure or a change in concept.” The Minister stated that the railway connections of Organized Industry Zones to sea ports must increase. “We have completed some examples of the work, we must increase their numbers.”

-Visit to the Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik

The last ministry visit of the day for TOBB Board was to the Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated the Turkish private sector’s satisfaction regarding Faruk Çelik’s appointment to the position of Labor and Social Security Minister.

Hisarcıklıoğlu praised Çelik for the structural reforms in his previous term as Minister, especially regarding the Social Security Institution. Talking about the projects enacted by the Labor and Social Security Ministry, İŞKUR, Ministry of Education, TOBB, TOBB ETU and TEPAV, Hisarcıklıoğlu said “The issue stems from the global crisis. We see that countries without production are lapsing into crisis. Turkey must produce. If it can’t, we may not be able to find employment for the new blood joining the work force every year.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that TOBB, as the Turkish private sector, fully supports the articles on the AK Party’s Government Itinerary regarding the work life.
 Çelik expressed that they would strive to eliminate the issues plaguing the work life via a rigorous dialog to identify them with a consensus in mind. Çelik, “It is my firm held belief that we will solve these problems via a dialog, where the workers run the workplace and the employers truly take care of their workers instead of a mindset prohibiting production and employment.”

When asked about a timetable concerning severance pay, Çelik replied, “We will assess all problems afflicting the business life in the coming term.” Çelik stated that they would be making a proposal to the Grand Assembly concerning severance pay. When asked further questions about severance pay Çelik stated that, “The items on the Government’s Itinerary are binding for all of us. We will handle these items as appropriate. We have not worked on this item yet and it would be wrong to comment on it. We will be providing information when a said item has been assessed and processed.”

After the speeches, Hisarcıklıoğlu presented Minister Çelik with chocolates. Çelik shared the chocolates with the press present, saying, “Well, that was a sweet start.”
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