22.01.2015 Davos
Attending the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, B20 Turkey and TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu gave an interview to CNBC-e. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that in an increasingly smaller world, everyone is effected by the decisions developed, going on to stress the possibility of a slowdown in global trade.
Reminding that Turkey will be hosting G20 and B20, Hisarcıklıoğlu said,
“You are aware that Davos is a meeting place for the business community,
governments, decision makers and bureaucrats. In this regard we are able to
observe the great interest in the meetings and bilateral talks taking place
here.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu, pointing out that the world’s economic and political is
being discussed in Davos, said, “The biggest problem is uncertainty in regards
to expectations of the future. We are living in a time when all that we knew to
be right has been turned on its head. There is no indication that what we’ve
encountered will hold true in the future either. When FED decides to implement
monetary tightening, all economies of the world are affected. When the Swiss
Bank decides to manipulate its money, all economies of the world are affected.
The world has become a small village. The decisions of developed countries
automatically affect everyone.”
B20 Turkey and TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that global trade
has contributed nothing to the world’s economy in recent years, that there is a
slowdown in global trade.
- Regional cooperation
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the World Trade Organization’s talks have
ground to a halt and regional cooperation has seen great interest, “Such as the
TTIP. Also of note is that there are no decreases in any reserves, in
production, there is no increase in consumption, however petroleum prices have
suddenly dropped 50%. This impacts the world economy both positively and
negatively, just as it affects us. There are those who are happy with the
developments and others who aren’t. Income inequality and unemployment is scary
for everyone. Addressing the demands of a developing middle class in the future
is being discussed. This is good in expanding horizons as well as turning your
mental faculties towards global issues. Consequently we are seeking solutions
to the world’s problems.”
- What will B20 Turkey do?
Hisarcıklıoğlu, in reply to a question what they will do as the B20,
said, “One of our priorities is SMEs. Or rather, it is inclusivity.
Unfortunately, B20 has always been only a mechanism to solve the problems of
G20 businessmen on an international scale. As the Union of Chambers and
Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, we decided to include SMEs into the process
after our government appointed us as B20 Term Chair. This is because when you
look at the ratio of SMEs in the economies of G20 countries which make up two
thirds of the world’s economy, they form approximately 65% of their countries
economy. This is roughly equivalent to the ratio in Turkey; it is the actual
locomotive power. Unfortunately we always miss. SMEs conduct 60% of Turkey’s
exports. This is an extraordinary power. SMEs are actually our partners as
well, the partners of our large companies. To this end, I’ve shared this idea
with our government and those outside it, I said that all SMEs throughout the
world are your shareholders. They either buy goods from you or sell you goods.
If you keep them out of this process, what does it matter if you try to solve
your own problems without solving theirs? This was met with agreement. The most
impactful development at the moment is the attention SMEs have garnered.
- 20 meetings will be held
In regards to inclusivity, there is another important point. We will be
holding approximately 20 meetings during our term. Most of these will be held
abroad, not in Turkey. We will consolidate these into regions. They are our
natural partners. To this end we will hold meetings in the Middle East, Africa,
Central Asia as well as many others; we will listen to their plights and be
their voices. We have also set up 6 ‘Task Forces’, work groups.
We will also bring together a council of 100 prominent Turkish
businessmen in Turkey to take on roles in the G20 and B20. We’ve seen that
there is great interest in this.”