Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu, who met with 50 entrepreneurs from 19 countries, said that they have met with over 900 entrepreneurs who can speak Turkish so far in this project which was started in 2005. Noting that you can go from the Atlantic to the Pacific by speaking Turkish, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “You will find Turkish entrepreneurs all over the world. It's actually a big synergy. It's all about networking. That's the purpose of this program. There's a beautiful saying in our culture: grace and prosperity in unity; anguish in dissent. If you come together you will find joy.”

- The path to prosperity is through trade

Hisarciklıoğlu emphasized that those who share the same feelings, rather than the same language, understand each other. M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, who also briefed guests on the structure and work of TOBB, said, “Even if you have military power, you are not rich if you do not have economic power. 40 years ago, our total exports were $3 billion. Most of it was agricultural products. The late Özal opened our horizons. Today, Turkey is the largest industrial giant between China and Italy. We have become exporting $170 billion a year. 92% of that is industrial. We export more than 50% of our exports to the US and European countries. One out of every 4 home appliances sold in Europe, one out of every 3 television sets is Turkish. Turkey is the country that sells the most cars to Europe.”

The TOBB President noted that the way to prosperity is to buy and sell goods, “Turkey does not have natural gas, oil. Our only asset is our entrepreneurial spirit.” Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that this endeavor will not succeed without courage, and said that money is not made without risk.