Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

He emphasised the following points: “This is a very important document for the future of the Turkish Industry and I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the preparation of this document. This sets an example that takes economic conditions and the competitive policies that prevail in the world and supports previously designed macro reforms with micro reforms.   Changes can be made according to the prevailing conditions. These may come up in due course. The targets and activities are identified according to the strengths and weaknesses.72 action plans are identified. These action plans are applied to six sectors in primary level. It is important that performance is also taken into consideration. These are sectors such as automotive, machinery, durable goods, electronics, textiles and ready wear, food, steel and iron.   We have a problem in intermediary and qualified manpower. This is something we have been complaining. Students are equipped with theoretical knowledge at the University, but combining theory and practice is not always achieved. It is a very positive move that, with the declared strategy, not only large companies, but SMEs will also be involved in establishing educational institutions.   It is a very important development that the Strategy envisages the establishment of  vocational high schools  at every Organized Industrial Region. Organized Industrial Regions are important venues for increasing competitive production and presence of educational facilities will contribute to this process.   SMEs must be open to innovation and efficiency. When we examine Turkish economy, we see that SMEs constitute a big majority. We are glad to see that support is provided for the SMEs in the strategy. It is important to move to high technological production.   When we evaluate İzmir, we see that İzmir is not a city which concentrates on specific sectors such as textiles in Denizli and automotive in Bursa. We have very diversified sectoral base in Izmir such as petrochemicals, iron and steel, food, textiles and tourism. Izmir is the second important city in exports.Tax contribution of Izmir is 88-90 %. Izmir is a city which has a high immigration rate. This brings the need of structural transformation of the city. The privatization of harbour is not accomplished yet. Alsancak Harbour is inadequate; Çandarlı Harbour needs to be completed. The city of Izmir has the capacity of doubling the contribution that it already does to  Turkish economy by several orders of magnitude, if the taxes it pays return to Izmir as investment.”   ​