Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Business Community Consultation Meeting took place at the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce with the participation of TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, TESK President Bendevi Palandöken, Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce President Mehmet Tuncay Yıldırım, Gaziantep Chamber of Industry President Adnan Ünverdi, Gaziantep Commodity Exchange President Mehmet Akıncı, Gaziantep Chamber of Tradesmen President Ömer Küsbeoğlu, chamber and commodity exchange presidents as well as many guests.

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu began his speech by pointing out that the meeting would be the 97^th anniversary of the liberation of Gaziantep from enemy occupation. “Gaziantep is a city with its heroism immortalized with the title of Gazi and crowned with Medal of Independence. Antep's resistance to the enemy shone a light on our War of Independence and became the symbol of bravery and patriotism in Anatolia.”

Stating that Gaziantep is a role model city, the TOBB President said, “There is a saying: ‘Grace and prosperity in unity; anguish in dissent.’ There are chamber and commodity exchange presidents from 9 provinces here. Thank you for coming. Our Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan is with us. We would like to thank the President for appointing the Minister of Trade from among us. This is a source of pride for us. Thanks to their vision, I believe that a new breakthrough in the economy will begin. It is also a chance for Gaziantep to be represented by such hard-working and visionary chamber and commodity exchange leaders.”

- Fulfilled requests from chambers and commodity exchanges

Hisarcıklıoğlu, pointing out the result of the demands coming from the chambers and exchanges, listed these activities as follows: “Short working allowance has been enacted. SSI premium payment grace period of 60 months for entrepreneurs who have had difficulty has been provided. The minimum wage support has been increased to 150 TRY. Technical bankruptcy was resolved with reorganizations. Regarding liquidation and transfer contracts, the draft law on public works is at the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Commercial credit insurance has been enacted. A very important step was taken in terms of credit guarantee. Support for licensed warehousing was increased. 10% discount on natural gas. Tax cuts were made in 4 sectors. Gaziantep utilized 60% of the allotted resource in the respite credits. There is 40% more you can use. Use it. Tell us where you are having problems. Post commissions in the retail sector have increased greatly. This needs to be solved.”

Emphasizing that this turbulent period is temporary, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu called for unity and solidarity, “Together we will join hands and bring our country to the place it deserves.”