Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The 35^th COMCEC meeting was held in Istanbul, hosted and chaired by Turkish President and COMCEC Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. TOBB President and Vice President of ICCIA M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Together there is grace and prosperity; anguish in dissent. We have lost grace and prosperity because we are separated.”

- Trade is the greatest source of peace

While Islamic countries should promote unity and solidarity, they waste their energy and resources in quarrels between them, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that it is necessary to strengthen the conversation and unite. Hisarcıklıoğlu explaining that the most important way for this is through trade, “Trade is the biggest source of peace. Traders don't promote conflicts, they don't look at each other with ill will. Therefore, we must first remove trade barriers between our countries and increase trade with each other. In this regard, we see progress in the last period. The intra-trade rate among Islamic countries has reached 20%. Of course, that's not enough. We still have a lot of work to do, and now we're taking another important step. On the orders of our President, in cooperation with TOBB and ICCIA, the Islamic Chamber Arbitration Center is starting operations in Istanbul. The agreement on the center will be signed here in a moment. In this way, the trade and investments between us will be made even more attractive and increase.”

“We must implement a preferential trade agreement (TIPS-OIC) between Islamic countries. The work has reached the final stage. We've got to get this done now. A similar problem is the issue of visas. People don’t trade and invest in countries they have difficulty entering, but with the country they can easily reach. What our faith says is that all Muslims are brothers. When we establish the brotherhood between us, we win both in this world and in the afterlife.”

- Whoever feeds the world becomes a world leader

Stating that food is the agenda item this year, TOBB President and ICCIA Vice President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “A correct agenda item has been set. For whoever feeds the world is the leading country in the world. Turkey offers very important investment and export opportunities in this field. We are first in Europe and seventh in the world in agricultural output. We have $70 billion of plant and animal production, our agriculture and livestock sector produces $18 billion in exports, $13 billion imports. By investing in Turkey, you can turn this potential into profit together.”

- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

In his speech, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged the entire Islamic world to support Albania, primarily because of the earthquake.

President Erdoğan stated that the Islamic world is faced with many threats ranging from terrorism, internal conflicts, and sectarian violence to ignorance. Erdoğan said new threats such as anti-Islamism and xenophobia, which are strengthened in the West, have become increasingly difficult to live a life in accordance with their beliefs, especially for those living in other countries as a minority.

Erdoğan emphasized that drama, pain and fighting are mostly seen when looking at the geography of Islam, said:

“It's an enormous audience of 1.7 billion who are wasting their energy with artificial agendas. Most of the blood spilled by the weapons sold by Western arms dealers is Muslim blood. Muslims are the people slaughtered by proxy terrorist organizations with Islam in their name. Unfortunately, there is nothing cheaper in today's world than Muslim blood, Muslim life. Our 1 million Syrian brothers who died under barrel bombs are just statistics in the eyes of some. The dramas of starving children in Yemen, except for a few countries and organizations, nobody cares. The cries of those children, who were brutally murdered while playing ball on the Gaza coast, are not heard by any organization, including the UN Security Council. From Somalia to Afghanistan, from Arakan to Turkestan to Libya, everywhere we look, we encounter similar sufferings and similar dramas.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “This unjust system built by the victors of the Second World War is not possible to continue the proclamation. The reorganization of the international security architecture according to today's conditions has not become a choice, but a necessity.”

President Erdoğan stated that the fate of all humanity, including the Islamic world, is left at the mercy of the five countries that are members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), explaining that the Islamic world has no right to make decisions and implement freely on its future.

- Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Yousef al-Useymin

Yusuf al-Useymin, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), also called for international meetings and cooperation to create a more suitable environment to increase investments within the organization and to provide better ground for commercial activities reported that you should work to move to a better point.

Useymin attended the 35^th COMCEC Meeting Ministerial Session at the Istanbul Convention Centre. He noted that bilateral trade between Islamic countries has increased.

- Islamic Chamber Arbitration Center agreement signed

At the end of the meeting, the agreement for the beginning of operations for the Islamic Chamber Arbitration Center in İstanbul which was established on the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began work, in cooperation with the TOBB and ICCIA, was signed. TOBB President and ICCIA Vice President Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the area for the Center will be expanded on the request of President Erdoğan after his signature.