Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu, in his speech at the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture’s (ICCIA) 15th Board Meeting stated that Palestine has gained an important victory on their bid for independence with recognition as an observer state by the United Nations on November 29th.

Expressing that the world is reshaping itself in the financial and political sense, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that we are in a historic period, “The global crisis has shifted the balances of power.

The strong countries of yesterday are far from their former power today. The financial and political center of gravity of the world is shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Therefore, the formation of a new world order is becoming possible. Eastern Asian and even South Amer5ican countries are taking advantage of this situation and trying to increase their power. As Islamic countries it is also possible to increase our influence in the global system. A new window of opportunity is drawing closer. Let us not forget, fortune only smiles on the prepared. In the coming era, countries which develop cooperation, commerce and investments will be the economies on the rise. Then, if we wish to be richer countries, if we want to be more prosperous nations, we must unite and work together.”

- “We must develop trade between us”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “According to our beliefs, on the Day of Judgment, one of the most difficult questions will be to answer how we spent the time allotted to us. Will we be able to answer this question as the opinion leaders of the Islamic world? Taking into account the lands we own, the natural resources, the population and the production potential the Islamic countries are very rich. But we are unable to sufficiently take advantage of this richness. The Islamic world is only 23% of the world population.

However we only provide 11% of world production; of the world’s total trade volume, 12%. This means we are producing and earning only half of what we should. The first step to changing this negative image is developing trade among us.

The European Union has determined the rules and principles of the free flow of goods inside its borders. This way, they’ve created a zone of prosperity in Europe. What are we doing?

We have been unable to overcome the visa and customs obstacles between us. We have been unable to enact joint trade rules. The Trade Preferential System among the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (TPS-OIC), which is an important mechanism for the development of trade between our countries, has yet to enter into effect. We are waiting for the member states to sign and ratify. If we cannot create a strong economic cooperation among ourselves, how are we to integrate with the global economy?”

Stating that a similar problem exists in regards to the matter of visas, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We say that we are brothers, but would brothers need permission to visit each other? This is not to put up barriers to separate us; it is time to unite and be strong. At this junction, we must play a pioneering role as the Islamic Chamber. I would like to issue a call to my brother Chamber Presidents present here: As the opinion leaders of the business community, we must take responsibility and initiative to facilitate these processes. We must embolden the private sectors of our countries and convince our governments to take concrete steps to this end.

We plan to hold a promotion meeting as Islamic Chamber and TOBB in line with the suggestion of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Mr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu in order to promote and support the Trade Preferential System among the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (TPS-OIC) which aims to facilitate trade between Islamic countries.

What are we afraid of while there are successful examples of shared customs policy in the world? Why don’t we integrate our countries and increase our production and trade?”

- “Why don’t we do it?”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stating that the world is focused on acquisition chains and said, “Companies are producing goods with input and technology from various countries and marketing these goods to the whole world. Why don’t we do it? The customs rates being enforced in Islamic countries exceed the world average by 26%. We are afraid that our domestic industry will suffer and we adopt protective policies, keeping us counting in place. This is the reason our competitive power does not improve.”

Stating that when Turkey opened up internationally in 1980, it was thought that the domestic industry was insufficient, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We thought that we couldn’t not enter into a customs union with the EU and compete with Europe’s industry. However, with the steps we’ve taken in 30 years and the reforms we have enacted in the last 10 years, Turkey has moved up a league. Thirty years ago we had 2,000 USD per capita income; today this figure has exceeded 10,000. Thirty years ago we had a yearly export volume of 3 billion USD. Over 90% of that was agricultural goods. Today we have an export volume of 150 billion USD and 92% of it is in industrial goods. Moreover, over half of our exports are made to the most competitive markets in the world, Europe and America.”

- “Entrepreneurs are necessary to prosper”

Reporting that one in three of every television sold in Europe as well as one in four of every white appliance are procured from production facilities in Turkey, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on: “Twenty-three of the largest one hundred companies of the Islamic geography are Turkish companies. In the contract construction sector, we are the second country in the world with the most and largest companies. We have become the 6th most preferred touristic destination in the world. These aren’t just happenstance. We must open the way for entrepreneurism and commerce in order to prosper. We must ameliorate the business and investment environment so that entrepreneurial individuals in our countries can emerge.

We need entrepreneurs to invest, produce and trade in order to prosper. The real power which brings prosperity to countries in this age is entrepreneurs. Look and Germany and Japan. They were completely devastated at the end of WWII. But they had strong private sectors and deep rooted cultures of enterprise. This is how they recovered. Why shouldn’t we be able to replicate this success? Turkey stands as a prime example. We have no petroleum, no natural gas. Despite this, we have the strongest private sector, the largest industrial production capacity and exports between China and Italy. This was achieved by the Turkish private sector and Turkish entrepreneurs. How did we do it? We opened our domestic market to competition. We enacted reforms to ameliorate the business and investment environments.”

- Request for support for İzmir

Hisarcıklıoğlu stating that an unemployment problem is present in Islamic countries, said, “In 57 Islamic countries, the unemployment rate is around 10%, above other developing countries. In addition, when we look at the 15-24 aged youth, according to official figures one in every four is unemployed. We must strengthen the vocational training in our countries in order to change this situation.”

Stating that as TOBB, they actualized a project to provide vocational training throughout Turkey in 2011 along with the National Education Ministry, the Ministry of Labor and TOBB-ETU, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “With this project, our youth not only got jobs, they also got a vocation. To date, approximately 50,000 people have been given vocational training. We are prepared to share our experience and know-how from this project with you. At the opening of the Islamic Chamber Meeting held in April in İstanbul last year, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation. With this we plan to develop the cooperation between the private sectors of the OIC member states.

Every year we provide chamber academy training to 57 Islamic countries. We plan to provide this program in 2013 and afterwards in cooperation with the Islamic Chamber and the Islamic Development Bank. I once again invite all members of the Islamic Chamber.”

Recalling the hadith which states that “Allah helps those who help their brothers in faith,” Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We stand ready to provide all assistance to our brothers, to convey what we have learned and share our experiences. We must see each other not as rivals but as pieces of a whole which complement each other. We are all in the same boat. We must work together. We must rise together.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that the elections for the city to host EXPO in 2020, and that İzmir is a candidate. He stated that İzmir can conduct EXPO admirably and asked for their support to this end.

- Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı

Speaking at the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture’s (ICCIA) 15th Board Meeting, Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı said that the countries attending the meeting were the of the same geography, civilization and belief.

In his speech Yazıcı touched on the subjects of the Palestine-Israel problem, undeveloped trade volume among Islamic countries, cooperation priorities among Islamic Cooperation Organization Economic and Trade Cooperation Permanent Committee (ISEDAK) member states and the fight against poverty.

- ICCIA President Sheikh Saleh Kamel

Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA) President Sheikh Kamel, drawing attention to the developments in Turkey, said, “Customs in many of our countries function as a part of the Ministry of Finance. This is a great error. Our Turkish brothers have seen the customs as tools to develop commerce.”

Following the speeches, the Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı, TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and Kamel exchanged gifts.

Afterwards, joint projects and cooperation among countries were assessed at the meeting which was held closed to the press. During the meeting, introductory pamphlets regarding İzmir’s candidacy for EXPO 2020 were handed out to 50 businessmen attending from 13 countries.