Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan participated in the D-8 Business Forum held online within the scope of the 10^th D-8 Dhaka Summit in cooperation with TOBB, Bangladesh Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and D-8 CCI. Bangladesh Trade Minister Tipu Munshi and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen were also present.

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that Commerce Minister Ruhsar Pekcan has always been a strong advocate for women trying to develop women's entrepreneurship, and underlined that Pekcan has also been the leader of TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Council for many years.

Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that the idea of cooperation between developing Muslim countries was proposed by Necmettin Erbakan 24 years ago, noting that after 24 years, the D-8 Organization has improved and helped deepen and strengthen relations between Turkey and the participating countries.

- “We must grow our $110 billion trade”

Hisarcıklıoğlu underlined that the well-being of the population of more than 1 billion D-8 countries depends on economic power, and emphasized that D-8 member countries produce around $4 trillion in Gross Domestic Product. D-8 countries managed to export around $1.5 trillion, “However, our intra-trade is only $110 billion. That's not enough. We need a better trade and investment environment between our countries. We need to expand the scope of our preferential trade agreement. Our member states must have full participation in this agreement. We need better physical and legal infrastructure for better connectivity. This should include visa-free travel between our countries. Therefore, in addition to the responsibilities of our governments, D-8 imposes a very important obligation on the Chamber of Commerce (CCI). We need to be aware that this is the only umbrella organization in the private sector within the D-8.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Turkey has attached a special importance to D-8 since its inception, and that he took over the Presidency of the Organization at the 9^th D-8 Summit in Istanbul in October 2017. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that it is time to hand over his position as chairman at the D-8 CCI to Sheikh Fazle Fahim, “I am really honored and pleased to hand over the chairmanship of the D-8 CCI. My support will always be available when you need it. I'm sure all D-8 national chambers will continue to support it. Hopefully, this pandemic will end soon and we will have our meetings and business events face-to-face. I wish you good luck and great success.”

- Minister of Commerce Ruhsar Pekcan

Commerce Minister Ruhsar Pekcan stated that the trade volume of the D-8 countries, which consists entirely of Muslim countries, is $1.6 trillion, of which only 6.5 percent is between D-8 member states. “Therefore, I think we should improve our trade relations. In particular, we must work towards the goal of reaching a trade volume of $500 billion within the D-8. The roadmap laid out at the 6^th D-8 summit set a trade volume target of $500 billion. In this context, the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement would be very important.”

Minister Pekcan stressed that it is very important for each country to trade together with D-8 member Muslim countries and called for improved trade volume.

Minister Pekcan stated that they believe that international trade and international business relations should be constructive, adding that D-8 member states should benefit from all efforts to improve their prosperity.

- “We need to improve our trade relations”

Minister Pekcan stated that they believe in the potential of the D-8 countries and stressed that there are very important economic and political actors in the D-8 member states. Pekcan reported approximately $4 trillion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 90 percent of non-energy exports within members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. “The total trade volume of the D-8 countries is $1.6 trillion. Only 6.5 percent of this is derived from trade within the D-8. Therefore, I think we should improve our trade relations. In particular, we must work towards the goal of reaching a trade volume of $500 billion within the D-8. The roadmap laid out at the 6^th D-8 summit set a trade volume target of $500 billion. In this context, the D-8 Preference Trade Agreement can be very important.”

Underlining that Turkey has started to implement the Preferential Trade Agreement, Pekcan said that they expect Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan in particular to move to the implementation phase as soon as possible and they want to see these countries in the agreement. “As Turkey, we are ready to work together with our D-8 partners in these innovative areas.”

Minister Pekcan noted that in addition to the Trade Agreement, incentives should be made to improve investor relations. At the same time, I want to emphasize that we need to cooperate on digital economy, digitalization and e-Commerce. As Turkey, we are ready to work together with our D-8 partners in these innovative areas.”

Minister Pekcan stated that another important issue is cooperation between the D-8 countries on issues related to facilitation of trade and especially customs procedures. Pekcan noted that the D-8 countries have the opportunity to cooperate and partner at the technical level. It would be really useful to encourage cooperation at such a technical level.”

- Other participants

Also attending the meeting were Sheikh Fazla Fahim, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), D-8 Secretary General Dato' Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Indonesian Deputy Minister of Commerce Jerry Samguaga, Bangladesh Deputy Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam, FBCCI Vice President Muntakim Ashraf, Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) President Ibrahim Mahmoud El Araby, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Shinta Kamdani, Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Vice President Mohammad Reza Karbasi Malaysian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCIM) President Tan Sri Datuk Ter Leong Yap, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) President Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu, Pakistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Nasser Hyatt Magoo.