23.11.2013 Istanbul
Over 150 foreign guests from 14 countries and the Quartet on the Middle East convened at the Partners for New Beginnings Global Summit – PNB Summit. Giving the opening speech of the summit, TOBB and PNB Turkey President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that Turkey is the transformative driving force of the region and said, “We aim to improve the relations with the entrepreneurs in PNB countries. In this regard, we also hope to become the center of entrepreneurship in the region.”
Stating that the
power of the entrepreneurial middle class dictates the power of wealth,
democracy and stability, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Strengthening entrepreneurship
is critical for the region. Oil and gas fail to bring wealth to the people.
They do not spread wealth among the masses; they do not ensure stability. The
real wealth of countries is to be found above the ground rather than under it.
Transformation is necessary in every economy in the region, from the richest to
the poorest. We must cultivate strong entrepreneurs. These kinds of
entrepreneurs require the necessary eco-system to thrive.”
Stating that peace
will bring trade; that trade will bring prosperity, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This
is the formula behind Turkey’s great leap forward in the last 10 years. The way
to turn this transformation to the benefit of the people throughout the world
is through partnership and the unification of power.”
Explaining that PNB
and its partners have undersigned a very important enterprise, Hisarcıklıoğlu
said, “We aim to improve the relations with the entrepreneurs in PNB countries.
In this regard, we also hope to become the center of entrepreneurship in the
region. We are at an important turning point in the history of the world. For
the first time in history, the sum of the national incomes of developing
countries has surpassed that of developed countries.
Advances in logistics
and information technologies are changing the economic structure, as well as
the production and distribution processes in the world. The opportunity to turn
this transformation to the benefit of the people lies in partnership and the
unity of power.
It is clearly
apparent from this meeting of the representatives of 14 countries, Europe and
the Quartet on the Middle East that the seeds we planted have begun to grow. I
would like to first congratulate the primary architect of this enterprise, Mrs.
Albright. She has shown that she is a statesperson of vision and foresight once
again. She has given us courage and confidence in taking this step.”
- Entrepreneurs are the most precious commodity of an
economy
Stating that everyone
accepts the fact that Entrepreneurs are the most precious commodity of an
economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the PNB enterprise which has been launched is
important in regards to both economy and history and went on:
“Thirty years ago,
Turkey was trying to survive behind closed doors, away from competition. Thirty
years ago, Turkey had no influence in any field, a prisoner to its economic
fears.
Today, we have the
most developed private sector in the region as well as the most powerful
industrial production capacity.
We export over 20,000
types of goods to over 200 countries. Our construction contractors are building
projects everywhere – from Siberia at 40 degrees minus Celsius to the deserts
of Africa at 40 sweltering degrees Celsius. They have achieved a work load
surpassing that of the last 40 years in the last 4 years. In regards to the
number of large companies we are in second position, right behind China. As a
result of the investments made our private sector, our tourism sector has leapt
to the 6th place in the world. Our tourism income has reached 32
billion USD from 300 million USD in 30 years. We are in 7th position
in the world in regards to agricultural produce – 1st in Europe. We
are also number 1 in regards to land transportation in Europe.
How did we achieve
all this? By developing the private sector, by opening up to competition and
integrating with the world.”
- Palestine notes
Having visited
Palestine the previous week, Hisarcıklıoğlu provided information regarding the
Jerusalem Arbitration Center, of which he is the president, and the Jenin
Organized Industry Zone investments.
“Through the kindness
of the Palestine and Israel business communities, we have taken historical
steps. We have established a joint arbitration mechanism. I was invited to be
its president and accepted this responsibility gladly. Now, we are working together
with my Palestinian brother, Zahi. We also brought to life a project we’ve been
working on for the last 8 years. We have begun the construction of an organized
industry zone in Jenin, Palestine. With it, we will provide employment to 6,000
people in Palestine which has an unemployment ratio of 40%. The fact that it
took 8 years to begin this project should be a lesson in itself for us. We must
better the investment environment in our region. Investment means employment.
Employment means more income. More income means higher buying power. That means
the growth of companies. The World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ study which spans
189 countries should our reference to better the investment environment in our
countries.
Our endeavor to being
trilateral talks with Israel and Palestine has been expanded with the Middle
East Trade Center Project; in addition to the US Chambers and TOBB, private
sector organizations from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Israel are also
developing this endeavor. It will begin operations in the first quarter of 2014
from İstanbul. Our fields of activity will encompass private economic zones,
entrepreneurship, trade corridors, energy and tourism. With the inspiration
we’ve gained from this project in Palestine, we’ve brought together the business
communities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey.
We are working on a
project to connect İstanbul to İslamabad; Pakistan to Turkey, and from there,
to Europe via rail. All of these projects show that Turkey is the
transformative power of the region. That is why it is very important for us to
be together with PNB and its partners. We plan to develop our relations with
entrepreneurs from PNB countries.
In this regard, we
want to be the center of entrepreneurship in the region.”
- “A strong private sector enhances the democracy
culture”
Stating that a strong
private sector enhances the democracy culture, TOBB and PNB Turkey President M.
Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu spoke about the projects they’ve undertaken as TOBB to
share their experiences in the region.
“As TOBB, we have
undertaken projects to build capacity in the country chamber along with the
Islamic Development Bank. This is because chambers are the heart of the
business community and the main representation mechanism.
We are providing
training to the secretary generals of 57 Islamic country chambers. We are
helping the region’s chambers to provide better service. This way, we will
ensure that the institutions and persons with whom we will be conducting
business with speak the same language.”
Deputy Prime Minister
Ali Babacan stated that Turkey has achieved great successes in the field of
economics and the reforms they conducted have proven to be an example to the
countries in the region.
Attending the meeting
via video link, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the youth want to
take on roles in the global process and to take advantage of opportunities
offered by it.
Former US Secretary
of State and PNB President Madeleine Albright stated that they are working to
create jobs and assist investments and provided information regarding the
projects they have undertaken. Also speaking during the meeting was the US
State Ministry Global Partners Special Representative Andrew O’Brien.
The Summit which will
take place at the İstanbul Hilton will be attended by the coordinating
representatives of Turkey, USA, Georgia, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan,
Pakistan, Palestine, Mauritania, Libya, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Greece as the EU
and the Quartet on the Middle East.