07.01.2016 İnegöl / Bursa

In his address at the İnegöl’s Stars Awards Ceremony” organized by the İnegöl Chamber of Commerce and Industry (İTSO) to commemorate its 125th anniversary, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the Turkish business community wants to compete against its rivals on equal footing.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that there are 365 chambers and exchanges in the union. Pointing out that there were no 5-starred chambers when he took office in 2002, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Praise Allah, today we have 212. Our goal isto reach 365.”

Stating that he is optimistic in regards to the future of the country, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Allah gave us no oil or gas. Thankfully he has seen fit to give us something else altogether: An extraordinary enterprising spirit which we discovered in the last 35 years. Turkish entrepreneurs have succeeded in turning the country into the largest industry between Italy and China.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the only thing they ask of the government is to have the same conditions as their rivals do in order to compete against them.

- Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Faruk Çelik

Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Faruk Çelik stated that the perception that increasing minimum wage has been disastrous is erroneous as well as problematic for employers as well and that, they find the request for equal footing for competition to be a perfectly suitable and just request.

Reporting that rapid advances will be made in regards to the new constitutions process, EU accession talks as well as business life, Çelik stressed the need to take a generalist view of the situations in regards to the responsibilities of a social government.

After the speeches, Çelik presented awards to the representatives of companies in the category of “High Institutional Tax Payers.”

Awards were also presented in the categories of “High Income Tax From Commercial Profit,” “High Performance in Exports,” and, “50 Years of Service.”