Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech, Hisarcıklıoğlu recalled that they started the Academic Advisors Project in 2014 and said that they were meeting to mark the beginning of a new era. Providing information about TOBB’s structure and activities, Hisarcıklıoğlu also consulted with academics on global developments. Pointing out that global developments would intensify competition in export markets, the TOBB President stated that they did not focus solely on risks and dwell on negativity, but rather looked at the big picture and saw no structural weakening in Türkiye’s production power or export capacity. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We have a resilient and dynamic real sector that has been growing steadily for 15 years.”

- More entrepreneurs are needed

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that the country’s greatest need is entrepreneurs, citing the post-World War II recovery of Germany and Japan as examples to highlight the importance of the power of entrepreneurs. Asking academics to bring students together with entrepreneurs in their regions, Hisarcıklıoğlu advised, “We need more entrepreneurs. To that end, bring the stories of successful entrepreneurs together with young people in your schools and encourage them to take these individuals as role models. Encourage them. Meanwhile, motivate your managers in our Chambers and Exchanges and broaden their horizons.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu, referring to the structure and activities of the TOBB community, stated that TOBB ETÜ has also undertaken very important work and provided information about the projects. Hisarcıklıoğlu said that TOBB has done a lot so far and achieved great things, adding: “As the transformation continues, we must continue to transform the Turkish private sector. The needs of each province and each sector are different. We must continue to strengthen our Chambers and Exchanges. I believe we will do this together. We expect the support that TEPAV provides us at the central level to be provided locally by TEPAV together with you. We need the experience and knowledge of you, our esteemed professors. We will think together, discuss together, and decide together. We will develop projects and implement them quickly. In doing so, Chambers and Exchanges will both draw from TOBB and contribute to TOBB. This is achieved through knowledge. Knowledge is the most important power in today’s world. Knowledge is power, and it grows when shared. That is why we launched the Academic Advisors program in 2014. Today, we are launching the 2025-2026 period. We want to produce knowledge together and design better policies with collective wisdom.”