Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Speaking at the meeting, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu started his speech by remembering the late Salihli TSO President Talat Zurnacı who passed away last year.

Stating that they have come together to celebrate TOBB’s 60th anniversary, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “TOBB is 60 years old. With whom do we celebrate our happy days? With our families. You are our family. It is you, who number 10,500 council members and 1.5 million members throughout Turkey.”

Recalling an anecdote from 60 years ago, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “TOBB was to hold General Assembly 60 years ago. TOBB was operating out of a room at the Ankara Chamber of Commerce. The General Assembly was to be held at the DTCF hall. In the afternoon, one of the attendees asked the Council President for his travel expenses. It turns out that he was from Merzifon and had mistaken TOBB’s General Assembly for the Veterinarians’ Chambers Union. It was possible to mistake the two organizations back then. Today, thankfully, TOBB has set itself apart in parallel to the growth of the Turkish private sector, with its 365 chambers and commodity exchanges.”

- We did not say there’s compulsory membership, we’ll take the fees and mind our business

Relating how when he became TOBB President 10 years ago, out of 365 chambers and commodity exchanges, only 5 had English speaking personnel, the TOBB President said, “Today, out of 365 chambers and commodity exchanges, only 10 lack personnel who can speak English. Look at how far the standards for our chambers have come. Chambers personnel did not have the capacity to create projects 10 years ago. Last year, 365 chambers and commodity exchanges received 400 million TL in grants for their projects. We’ve come to 400 million from 0. We’ve put great importance on accreditation. We did not say there’s compulsory membership, we’ll take the fees and mind our business.

- “Raise your children as entrepreneurs”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Please raise your children as entrepreneurs. If we want to be rich we must raise children who will innovate. I asked you before in this hall whether you were raising children in the same way as the time of your grandparents. You said yes. We all raise our children to avoid making waves. However this is the age to innovate.”

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu presented the Council Members of the Salihli Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Commodity Exchange with their plaques commemorating the 60th anniversary of TOBB.
​