Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the historical friendship between Turkey and Germany cannot be held back by interest seeking politicians.

Stating that Turkey has adopted European Union (EU) rules as a roadmap, Hisarcıklıoğlu said:

“When we put these rules into effect you can choose to accept us into the EU. It will be evident who wants to be a part of it and who won’t. Germany wants to sell more goods to Turkey. We want to buy more. But I am unable to travel there and make the purchase. The visas to which businessmen are subject to need to be lifted for us to be able to buy more goods from Germany.”

Addressing German businessmen, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Turkey is intimately familiar with the region stretching from the Middle East to North Africa and that if Turkey’s courage and experience were to be combined with German capital, great tasks could be accomplished.

Stating that the world is undergoing significant changes as a result of the economic crises and consequently 14 prime ministers in Europe and 4 heads of state in North Africa have been forced out of office, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “While Turkey became the fastest growing country in the world after China last year. The greatest success in this belongs to the Turkish private sector.”

- Admiration of the Turkish economy

Federal Economy and Technology Ministry Undersecretary Peter Hintze stated that, “The Turkish economy is greatly admired in Germany.”

Emphasizing that Turkey is a staunch ally in NATO as well as the EU and Germany’s close trading partner, Hintze said that Turkey’s 8% growth last year was marvelous.

Hintze stated that he found the decision to move the headquarters of the Turkish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce to Berlin.

Turkish-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Rainhardt Freiherr von Leoprechting stated that they decided to move the headquarters of the chamber to Berlin in order to be closer to the decision making mechanism and that they would continue to keep strong relations with the members and business community in Köln.

Leoprechting added that they wish for the more frequent meetings between the bureaucratic corps of the two countries regarding the visa exemption.

The opening of the new building was conducted after the speeches.
​