Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Speaking prior to the meal, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu addressed the chamber and exchange presidents, “We have come to the end of a long election period. You’ve taken up your mandate to serve Turkey’s bright future for the next four years. First of all: Congratulations to all of you. You’ve shouldered a great responsibility with this four year term. You’ve put yourself under the rock for the benefit of your city and country. May Allah aid you in your endeavors.”

Underlining the significance of the month of Ramadan in terms of unity, solidarity and sharing, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “It is the meeting of friends and families. Just so, we are here as one big family. We are a very large family. The tradition in Anatolia is to convene on the invitation of the elder. The Minister is our elder in this instance. We’ve all come together today in answer to his invitation. So, on behalf of our community, I would like to thank the Minister.”

Stating that Minister Yazıcı has been very fortuitous for their community, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “All of his labors have been for you. He has undertaken great works and continues to do so. His signature is on all of the reforms which have paved the way for the private sector in recent years.”

Emphasizing that Yazıcı has supported them greatly in regards to the incentives issues, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We exhausted all options in this matter. The Minister has been a great help to us from the very first day. He lobbied for it with us. I would like to thank him on behalf of these 51 provinces.”

Stating that they have worked closely with the Ministry of Customs and Commerce in recent years, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are producing projects to propel the Turkish private sector forward. We will actualize the MERSİS Project, expand licensed warehousing and specialized product exchanges in short order. Another matter is the passing of the retail law. We believe that we will reach a resolution in this matter which has negatively impacted many of our members.”

- Customs and Commerce Minister Yazıcı

Stating that they are working on a bill to address the issues regarding retail, Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı said, “The bill which was presented in newspapers yesterday and today is not something our Ministry usually services to the media. We do not know how it was leaked, however there are many unacceptable things as it stands. We will discuss these with interested parties, then we will announce the results to the public. The field is in need of reorganization.”

Stating that the most important power as a nation is that of cooperation and the spirit of solidarity, Yazıcı said that these feelings are elevated during Ramadan.

Minister Yazıcı went on to speak regarding the good fortune of Turkey in comparison to the level of poverty reported by the World Bank, the significance of justice and made assessments regarding the solution process.