Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In addition to Hisarcıklıoğlu, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci, Turk-İş President Ergun Atalay, TESK President Bendevi Palandöken and Officer-Sen President Ali Yalcin were also present at the opening ceremony. In his speech, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said that in this critical period, it is very meaningful to have such an investment, especially in Hakkari, while emphasizing that this region is a very important step that will open it up to global trade and achieve prosperity and wealth.

Touching on the coup attempt of July 15^th, a treacherous and treacherous violence originated by FETO, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Terrorist organizations such as the PKK, DAESH, and FETÖ, which are not related to each other, targeted our country during the same period. The treacherous coup attempt of FETÖ caused many troubles for my country. The region around us has become a complete circle of fire. Any other country would have folded if they went what we went through. But we stand strong. Thank Allah we have shown the world that we will not be defeated no matter how many players move against us.”

-If it there is trade, there’s money and wealth

The TOBB President stated that, “The basic rule of the economy is that if there is trade, there is money. If there’s money there’s wealth. Our dream is to turn the course of global trade back to this geography. With Esendere we will be one step closer to translating this dream into reality. This will be Anatolia’s gate to Iran and Central Asia. Hakkari will become rich, Turkey will become rich. Iran will also become rich. So we will all win together. As TOBB, we have always acted with this vision. We perform approximately 40% of our exports by road. For many years we have neglected our border gates. The trucks of our exporting entrepreneurs were queuing for miles. With the positive approach and approval of our government, we have achieved a first in the world. We started to modernize the land customs gates with build-operate-transfer model. Doing so did not cost the state a single cent. On the contrary, the tax revenue of the state increased exponentially thanks to the more efficient and voluminous crossing. To this day, we have built 10 border gates with our state-of-the-art technologies for our country.”

-Private sector gains 410 million TRY annually

Hisarcıklıoğlu, speaking about the Ministry's work, said that the private sector has saved 410 million TRY a year from freight costs, as the waiting period for trucks carrying goods is shortened. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, in other words, every year, industrialists, traders and entrepreneurs said that they have saved more than 410 million TRY. Hisarcıklıoğlu said that this practice, which has been misunderstood by public and private sector partnership, has received great acclaim in the world. “For the first time by the United Nations, a project by Turkey has been selected and shown as the best example in the world. All around the world, 'If you make your border crossings fast, if you make it safe, do as Turkey does,' is what they say. Now, we are working to export this model to the neighboring countries in the surrounding region.”

- That is what chambers and the commodity exchanges do

Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This is what Chamber-Exchanges do. They invest in Turkey's future. To the state, to its member. I would like to thank the Chamber-Commodity Exchange Presidents who are the architects of this success. We also invested 75 million TRY for Esendere.

The facility originally stood on 28,000 square meters. The new Esendere Customs Gate is built on a total area of ​​50,000 square meters. Designed to suit global commercial needs, this new gate features state-of-the-art x-ray, camera and access systems. Hopefully together with Esendere, Hakkâri will once again gain splendor. Currently, our bilateral trade with Iran is around 10 billion USD.

Our goal is to raise this to 30 billion USD. Again, this will be the key point of the Historic Silk Road linking Far East Asia to Europe. The revival of the Silk Road will greatly contribute to the trade and development of this region.”

- Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım

 Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım thanked TOBB for its contributions. Prime Minister Yıldırım stated that they had experienced great sorrows in these regions in the recent past, “The ditches were excavated. People have been forced from their homes. Innocent people were murdered. Many were martyred and wounded. Thank goodness now everywhere our flag is flying everywhere again. Our aim is not to let the traitors of the bastions enter our country between us now. It is like a pair of two legs that are basically a FETO and a PKK. They feed from the same source and they are of one mind.”

- Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci

Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tüfenkci also pointed out the importance of border trade in his speech. Pointing out that border trade has a vital place in the exports of the province, Tüfenkci pointed out that “Besides border trade, it is important to remember that the vehicles entering and leaving Esendere Customs benefit the local economy. More than 400,000 passengers enter and exit; 80,000-90,000 vehicles per year.