The 75th General Assembly of TOBB

Noting that the economy rises on the shoulders of the business world, Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan said: "That is why I believe we will bring the best solutions to our problems by joining forces with our business community, and that we will rise into the league of high-income countries with a more competitive and more resilient economy."

Minister Pekcan attended the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkiye (TOBB) "75th General Assembly Certificate of Merit and Plaque Presentation Ceremony", held with the participation of Vice President Fuat Oktay.

Explaining that she had set up consultation boards with the business world from the day she took office, Pekcan said they attach great importance to consultation and evaluate incoming requests with great care. Reporting that the Ministry had received around 2,400 requests to date, Pekcan said: "1,156 of these concern our ministry, and the remainder relate to other ministries. We have given a negative response to only 150 of them, explaining the reasons. We responded positively to the remaining 1,056 of your requests. We are also following up your other requests by forwarding them to the relevant ministries and by establishing a coordination board."

Pekcan stated that, despite the protectionist trend around the world and the slowdown in global trade, the Ministry continues to make significant contributions to the country's development and financing. Recalling that they had announced the highest export figure in the history of the Republic last year, Pekcan reported that exports had increased in the first three months of this year. Referring to the ratio of exports to imports, Pekcan noted that last year closed at 75% and that this year the figure has reached around 80%.

Emphasising that Turkiye aims to move from middle income to high income level over the next 10 years, Pekcan said: "In this regard we are working to strengthen our position and build our brands further in the markets where we operate. We attach importance to digitalisation in domestic trade, foreign trade and customs, and we are working to bring e-commerce to the fore. We aim to capture new technologies in production. Our goal is to raise high-technology product exports from the 3-4% band first to 10% and then to around 17%."

"We will extend the Export Support Offices to all 81 provinces"

Pekcan stated that, in order to increase the number of exporters, 31 Export Support Offices had been established in 21 provinces together with TOBB, and that these would be extended to all 81 provinces. Providing information about the work of the Export Support Offices, Pekcan said that everyone can benefit from them. Noting that consultation meetings had been held in 23 provinces during this period, Pekcan said they had come together with approximately 27,000 tradespeople and 5,000 chamber and commodity exchange representatives.

Pointing out that commercial counsellors will become more visible, active and efficient guides who open the way for the business world, Pekcan stressed that everyone will work together to attract more investors to Turkiye. Noting that they had identified a lack of trust and service in e-commerce, Pekcan said they had created the Trust Stamp together with TOBB. Referring to their work on the Retail Information System (PERBIS), Pekcan said: "It is currently at the software stage; once it is completed at the end of this year, company formation, closure and licensing procedures will be able to be carried out digitally through PERBIS."

Emphasising that the Ministry attaches great importance to drawing on the vast knowledge and experience of the business world in its work, Pekcan made the following assessment:

"The work we have carried out together to date is concrete evidence of this. The certificates of merit to be presented today will also be a mark of the efforts our esteemed representatives of the business world have made so far. We know very well that our economy rises on the shoulders of the business world. That is why I believe we will bring the best solutions to our problems by joining forces with our business community, and that we will rise into the league of high-income countries with a more competitive and more resilient economy. I congratulate the delegates receiving awards."

At the end of her speech, Pekcan extended her best wishes for 1 May, Labour and Solidarity Day.

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