Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

As part of the Turkey Investment Week organized by TOBB and the US Chamber of Commerce, TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu provided information regarding private sector investments in Turkey at the UCLA Global Management Center during the “Turkey’s Primary Growth Sectors” conference.

Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that Turkey is the world’s 6^th most preferred tourism destination in the world while also talking about the success of the Turkish construction sector. Hisarcıklıoğlu went on to talk about the economic reforms in Turkey.

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Recently, domestic demand has reached its growth limits with the growth in growing markets decreasing.”

Emphasizing that exports are very important for Turkey, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Additionally the future of Turkey’s largest trade partner, the Euro zone, remains vague. The USA is experiencing rough times because of known issues. The Arab spring runs rampant throughout the Middle East, which is turning out to be a more drawn out process of painful change than previously expected.”

Stating that despite all this, he remains optimistic as an entrepreneur, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “In 1980, Turkey’s export volume was only 3 billion USD, comprised mostly of agricultural goods; today it is 150 billion USD with 94% of it in industrial goods.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu also spoke in regards to the successes achieved by the tourism and construction sectors, providing additional information.

Prime Minister Deputy Ali Babacan reported that much ground has been gained in the last 10 years in regards to the country’s EU membership, touching on such matters as democracy and freedoms, internet access and social media usage.