01.11.2018 Antalya
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, attending the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ATSO) Traditional Award Ceremony, said: “We need to protect the trade, production and employment capacity of our traders and industrialists. Our only request is that the government not leave us alone in this economic struggle.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu,
in his speech at the ATSO Traditional Award Ceremony, pointed out that the
country has been going through a difficult period, “We are all suffering from
various troubles in the economy. At such times, what we most need is morale. At
this point, our most prominent, most morale giving city is Antalya.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu assessing the state of Antalya’s economy, while Turkey average in
the number of companies opened increased by 5%, the average of Antalya is 11%;
the ratio of the insured employees increased by 3% in Turkey, 8% in Antalya.
Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that Antalya is number one in Turkey in regards to employees
increase.
- Antalya’s tourism success story
Noting
that Antalya has written a success story in tourism, the TOBB President said, “Antalya
is ranked 4th in Europe and 11th in world tourism rankings.
Hopefully this year, we will reach 14 million foreign tourists in Antalya.
Thus, we will break a historic record. Antalya is not known only for its
tourism. Antalya also comes to the fore in industry and agriculture. In yacht
production, you have become a world brand. You are leaders in fruit-vegetable-greenhouse-flower
production. Thus, Antalya is very important to the economy, to Turkey. When
Antalya grows, Turkey grows. If you Antalya has problems, Turkey has problems.
For this reason, Antalya should always be given special care. As I am aware of
the importance of Antalya, I am sure to come to Antalya every year. We keep
your pulse, listen to your troubles, your opinions, then we forward our
suggestions to the government together with the Chamber and Commodity Exchange
Presidents.
I
am immensely proud of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Exchange. Both are
Accredited. They provide 5-star service on par with European quality. Our chamber
now has a new vision and destination. Antalya; In addition to agriculture,
tourism and trade, can be a center of technology, and this is the 4T vision for
Antalya. These are the visions that make cities brands; enrich them and stand
out in the world. Thanks to the unity and solidarity, Antalya will reach this
goal. I congratulate our Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry again. Davut
Çetin, the president of the Chamber, is my colleague at TOBB. I benefit from
his experience and knowledge in Ankara. With YÖREX, an awareness emerged in 81
provinces. We realized the value of our own products. We understood that it was
necessary to take geographical markers and register them in Europe. I would
also like to thank Mr. Ali Çandır.”
- Works in the last 2 months
Hisarcıklıoğlu
also provided information on what they have been doing in the last 2 months and
how they have made proposals to the government, and gave a comprehensive presentation
on the issues. In his presentation, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We told the
government what we got from you one by one. We demanded the continuation of the
minimum wage support. We urged postponement of SSI premiums. We said that
incentives should be given to enterprises which employ short-term workforce and
provide employment protection incentives. We raised employment, finance and
sectoral issues. We demanded low interest loans for agriculture and livestock.
We wanted to find a solution for our accumulated VAT receivables. VAT and SCT
rebates came, I would like to thank our government and all officials who listened
to our demands. There is a global index of doing business. A year ago we said
that our rank does not suit us. We said we need to make it easier to do
business. We tried. We ranked higher that 50 for the first time in history
yesterday as announced yesterday.”
Stating
that this period was a period of preservation, TOBB President stated: Every
factory that shuts down, each factory that stops its production, is the loss of
national wealth. struggling with a myriad of issues ranging from interest rates,
exchange rates, taxes and different bureaucratic legislation encountered every
day and said, “While there are a thousand kinds of difficulties, our only
request is that the government shows that they stand with us and not leave us
alone in this economic struggle. Do not leave us alone in the world of economic
struggle. I'm never pessimistic. In the last 25 years, we have experienced
dozens of crises and turbulences, both internally and externally. We've
overcome them all and continued on. Let us not alienate one another. Hopefully,
we will join together again and bring our country to the place it deserves.”