13.01.2015 Ankara
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and B20 Turkey Chair M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are faced with problems we’ve never seen before in the global economy. We are talking about a time when an abundance of cash will no longer be present and when monetary tightening will be all too present.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu convened with the ambassadors of G20 countries at the
TOBB Twin Towers.
Stating that history shows how effective a platform G20 is in times of
global economic crisis, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “However, today we are faced with
problems we’ve never seen before in the global economy. We are talking about a
time when an abundance of cash will no longer be present and when monetary
tightening will be all too present. All eyes are on the American Fed. Nobody is
able to predict how the situation will effect developing economies or
underdeveloped countries.”
Stating that they are unable to successfully implement infrastructure
projects, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that they are unable to pair resources with
projects.
- “We are still bonded to
petroleum”
Pointing out that the issue of energy is still fraught with many
unknowns, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are still bonded to petroleum. Brent oil
prices have dropped by 50% despite no expectations of a serious crisis. It is
unclear what this drop will bring.”
Stating that trade has lost its old luster, Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that
increase in trade has been left behind even by slow growth rates in recent
years.
Stating that the issues at hand are global problems requiring global
solutions, Hisarcıklıoğlu underlined G20’s importance in this regard.
Stressing the fact that G20 is a platform which can enable the rapid and
effective implementation of decisions in regards to the global economy,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This is why we, the Turkish business community, put great
importance on our 2015 presidency. We know that we will have this opportunity
again only in 20 years at the earliest. We are working with all our power to
make use of this opportunity.”
Touching on the importance of increasing cooperation between business
and government at a time when G20 has such significance, Hisarcıklıoğlu added
that B20, the business wing of the G20, needs to be strengthened.