Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Delivering the opening speech of the seminar, ATO President Atila Menevşe underlined that in the information age R-D and innovation provide major advantage in competition.

Menevşe said “As a country, we compete for promoting to upper league of industry and production. There is no doubt that we shall be able to achieve the most important advantage during this competition through R-D and innovation. Both for our production volume and quality increase as well as created added value increase R-D and innovation play an important role.”

Stating that Turkey having three major objective respectively as solving employment problem, decreasing import dependency level and moving from labour-intensive production to information-intensive production and technology, Menevşe also said that in order to be able to achieve those, it is necessary to succeed in R-D, innovation and designing.

Menevşe continued as follows: “Adana is a very powerful city in terms of textile sector. It would not be wrong to say that Turkey is the motherland of textile. Production of cotton intensively in Çukurova has rapidly extended and improved textile and affiliated many sectors in Adana. Today, Adana still remains as one the leading cities in textile. Textiles with a 60 billion of turnover, 27 billion of exportation and 1 million of employment is one the most important sector for our country. Our government provides various incentives and supports for information, technology and exportation driven growth. Within the scope of investment incentives firms are able to receive custom tax exemption, VAT privilege, tax reduction, national insurance employer’s support,  allowance for investment location, interest support, income tax withholding support, insurance premium support, VAT return. Within inward processing regime intermediate goods can be procured by import tax exemptions.  For the finance of exportation Eximbank credits along with the amounts have been increased.  In addition to many support programmes intended for R-D and innovation by KOSGEB and TÜBİTAK, significant incentives and supports also is being provided for aggregation activities by our Ministry of Economy. Because we, as a chamber believing that economy of Adana shall improve by the establishments namely you expanding, also presenting our members with an exemplary programme in Turkey, incentive for visiting abroad exhibitions and setting stands.”

Speaking at the seminar opening Perviz Özdündar from TOBB Real Sector R-D Implementation Department Presidency said that as per regulatory decision no 2015/25 and dated 18^th June 2015 by High Planning Council; Strategy Paper and Action Plan for ‘Turkey Textile, Ready-made Clothing and Leather Products’ prepared by the contribution concerning state institutions/organisations and private sector under the coordination Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology was published in the Official Gazette dated 25^th June 2015.

Özdündar, within that context, said that as per ‘Textile, Ready-made Clothing and Leather Products Sectors Strategy Paper’ the task for giving seminars to the firms which operate within the sector about current R-D, Designing supports and submitting project, is under the responsibility of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and therefore seminars were being carried accordingly.

Later on at the seminar which ATO Vice-President Mehmet Şahbaz and related company executives, Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology Assistant Expert Muhammed Fatih Taşkın, KOSGEB Adana Acting Director Aysun Dördü along with Çukurova Development Agency Project Implementation Division Expert Murat Kaplan delivered their presentations and answered the topical questions by the participants.