Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu attended the 25^th Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Economic Cooperation Organization Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECO CCI) organized in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

Attending the meeting were members of the organization in Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; presidents and senior executives of commerce and industry chambers.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated in his speech that increasing cooperation in the region has become more important than ever and stressed that the energy and trade corridors between Asia and Europe pass through this region, which has oil and natural gas resources.

Stating that there is a very large market in the region where nearly 3.5 billion people live, but the share they take from world trade is only around 2%, the TOBB President said, “If we consider that our region has 6% of the world's population, we are using only one third of our potential.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that the trade routes in the region should be made safe and fast, “We have to make our trade routes safe and fast. This would increase trade amongst ourselves in addition to becoming the center of trade between both Asia and Europe. We are looking for ways to move these goods faster. We are the bridge. We have great opportunities ahead of us. If we cannot use this opportunity, trade will be conducted through other paths and we will be the losers.”

At the meeting, General Secretary of EIT CCI Adem Kula presented the 2018 activity report of the secretariat.

As a part of the meeting, the memorandum of cooperation between the ECO CCI and the Turkish Business Council was signed.

Prior to the meeting, Hisarcıklıoğlu attended the working dinner hosted by Baghdad Amreyev, the Secretary General of the Council of Turkish Speaking Countries. At the dinner, cooperation opportunities between the business world were discussed.