Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are greatly pleased by the visit of the King of Jordan. It is a great opportunity that His Majesty is visiting Turkey and bringing us together with the highest level representatives of the Jordanian business world during the three day trip. It was a great opportunity that today His Majesty accepted the leaders of the Turkish and Jordanian business world and listened to them. The most important outcome of this meeting is that he requested concrete projects and suggestions in regards to obstacles preventing the Turkish business world from investing and settling in Jordan. We would like to especially thank His Majesty; The FTA signed in 2009 widened our horizons. The signing of the FTA was the removal of one of the most significant obstacles between Turkey and Jordan. Secondly, with the lifting of visas, another important obstacle was removed.”

- No obstacles between the two countries

Stating that there are virtually no more obstacles left between the two countries, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We will conduct a study to see what we can do to make more investments. The fact is that Jordan was always one of the most important countries of the world and remains so today.”

Remarking that the problems faced today are a result of the instability in Syria which stands between Turkey and Jordan, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Syria’s instability is harming the citizens of Syria as well as obstructing Turkey from doing business with the business worlds of Jordan, the Middle East and the Arab business worlds. Hopefully stability will be restored in Syria soon and I believe that the bonds between will become even stronger.”

- It is imperative for leaders to adapt to the times

Stating that they have been observing the political declinations and reforms in Jordan by the visiting King, Hisarcıklıoğlu said:

“It is only right that those who lead the country should adapt to the times. The world is rapidly changing; the world of today will differ that of five years in the future. That is why there are always structural reforms on national agendas. This is why His Majesty is enacting structural and political reforms for the prosperity of the Jordanian people. Looking at structural reforms in an economic sense we can see how open His Majesty is. In this regard, I can honestly say that Jordan is very lucky. I congratulate the Jordanian people for having such a King.

We had started this process 30 years ago, with the late Özal. Turgut Özal was then the Prime Minister. There is neither petroleum nor natural gas in Turkey, just as in Jordan. We saw that we could develop and prosper only one way and that was through the hand of the private sector. The late Özal made efforts in all structural reforms to open the way for the private sector. Of course, in the last 10 years, the environment of political stability and trust attained in the last years in Turkey enabled these efforts to increase. Today Turkey is a country of stability in economic terms and one whose story of success is oft retold. We are always ready to share our experiences on this matter with our brothers.”