Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Stating that Şanlıurfa is classified as a zone 6 in the new Incentives Law, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Şanlıurfa is our gateway to the Middle East. What does the new Incentives Law bring? If the bank is taking 12 points of interest, the government pays for 7. The government is giving full employment support. There will be 0 premiums for employers for the next 10 years. You will only need to pay your workers. These are great opportunities.

Held in cooperation by the Şanlıurfa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Şanlıurfa Commodity Exchange, the tax awards ceremony was held at the Şanlıurfa DSİ Hall.

In his speech, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu thanked those who contributed to the opening of the TOBB Science High School, and went on, “The people of Şanlıurfa are clever, many important people will grow up here. There is a rich spiritual air to Şanlıurfa.”

Extolling the merits and advantages of Şanlıurfa, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The highest quality wheat comes from the Urfa plain, called ‘Anatolian hard wheat’. The first university in the world, Harran University, is here. This is the city of prophets. The most plentiful plain in the world, Turkey’s third largest agriculture area.”

Stating that the face of Şanlıurfa will change 3 or 4 times over in a short time, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the city has 5 billion TL in agriculture.

- The two most strategic sectors will be agriculture and livestock

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu, stating that the agriculture used to be done mainly for subsistence, but that it has now become a significant source of income, said, “Two most strategic sectors in the coming era will be agriculture and livestock. We must recognize the importance of this. The Netherlands, comparable in size to Konya, has an agricultural export of 80 billion Dollars. Urfa should be aiming for at least 100 billion Dollars. If the Netherlands can do it, so can Urfa. Allah has graced you with everything you need. You should appreciate that fact.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu explained how Şanlıurfa has been undertaking projects for Brussels in order to introduce licensed warehousing to the region and went on, “This is about branding and promotion. Look at the cities in Turkey which have become brands. If the governor, parliament representatives, chamber and exchange presidents work together, then prosperity and grace are had by all. Nobody can stop Şanlıurfa now. Take advantage of these opportunities. You are standing on treasure. Another source of prosperity Allah has granted you is tourism. There is Lake Halil İbrahim and Revered Eyüp. It is impossible to compare the old and the new Urfa. Şanlıurfa is the center of the three religions.”

- Şanlıurfa’s 1 million tourist goal

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu set a goal for Şanlıurfa in the field of tourism. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Your tourism goal should be 1 million tourists. Let us set this goal together and work towards it.”

Emphasizing that entrepreneurship should be supported at every chance, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Throughout the history of the Republic, the number of entrepreneurs we’ve produced is 1.4 million. Japan’s population is 6.3 million. If you were to compare populations Japan has 3 times more entrepreneurs than we do. The way to prosperity is through entrepreneurship. Support your children in regards to entrepreneurship.

I have a request to make of fathers. Please raise your daughters with an enterprising spirit. Our ratio of entrepreneurial women is 6%. If we want to prosper, we need women entrepreneurs. A Muslim emulates the Revered Prophet. Was the wife of the Prophet, Revered Hatice not one of the most prolific traders of Mecca? Our Prophet worked alongside her. Why won’t you emulate this?

Please do not discriminate between your sons and daughters. Everything built on injustice is doomed to fail.

If you discriminate between your children; if you don’t give them their due in property, there will be nobody to carry your flag after you.

We must engender a culture of partnership. Form a partnership built on fairness and justice and just see if anybody can best you.”
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