Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Kayseri Regional Consultation Meeting took place with the participations of TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, hosted by Kayseri Chamber of Commerce, Kayseri Chamber of Industry and Kayseri Commodity Exchange.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that, working with the Kayseri Chamber / Commodity Exchange Presidents, many of the demands submitted to the government in the last few months have been realized with the support of Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan.

Stating that various measures have been implemented in regards to reducing employment costs, alleviating financial burdens and increasing dynamism in the markets, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “With the participation of President Erdoğan and Ministers, we found opportunity to relay firsthand the issues which we found to be important at the TOBB Turkey Economy Summit on January 21^st. Representing the Central Anatolia Region, Kayseri CE President Ömer Gülsoy presented your demands. Again at the Summit, the President of the Republic of Turkey received pledges for commitment to employment from our Chambers and Commodity Exchanges. Kayseri announced the goal of employing 30,000 new people. I believe that Kayseri will achieve this.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that they intend to hold the TOBB Turkey Sectoral Economy Council with the participation of the government next week, and that there will be good news for the new employment incentive.

Stating that, under the leadership of Minister Pekcan, they’ve begun a major exports move, the TOBB President said, “We established Export Support Offices in 16 provinces. Our chambers, through these offices, will be the guides for all matters to exporters.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that a demand of the companies is to make Eximbank more active and said, “Thanks to the works of our Minister, our SMEs have easier access to Eximbank. In 2017, the share of SMEs in Eximbank loans was 53%. Now the share of SMEs has reached 71%. We've also received more good news earlier this week. With the instructions of our Minister, Eximbank is beginning to offer more cost-effective investment financing to our manufacturers and exporters. In this context, a financing protocol of 200 million USD was signed with 9 leasing companies. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Minister for their results-oriented work carried out in consultation with our business world.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We'll discuss these as well. But let's keep in mind that as the Turkish business community, we have proved many times in the past what we are capable of, how dynamic and productive we are, despite all the obstacles we face. With private sector-government consultation, we have seen that we can overcome problems. We believe that all this turbulent process is temporary. Because the foundations of Turkey's economy are robust. We've overcome dozens of troubles throughout the past 25 years and we will overcome the issues facing us today. I hope we will join together again and bring our country to the place it deserves. We will be among the largest economies in the world.”

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Let's not alienate anybody and push them away. Let’s preserve the unity and strength of our country and our nation. Then we won't be stuck on this bump and we will continue on our path. I hope that today's consultation will bring about many beneficial results.”