02.03.2024 Antalya
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu participated in the “International Trade, Connectivity and Interdependence” panel organized with the participation of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz within the scope of Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2024.
In his speech here,
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Antalya is among the top 5 cities that attract the
most visitors in the world and hosted 16 million foreign tourists last year,
and that the city, which has made a name for itself in industry and
agriculture, now contributes to global peace by ensuring that diplomacy stands
out.
Stating that trade has
become important not only economically but also politically, Hisarcıklıoğlu
said, “Countries that are part of global value chains grow easier and faster.
At the beginning of this century, Türkiye exhibited a concrete example of this.
With the transformative effect of the EU, Türkiye has become the industrial
giant of this region and the country that produces the most industrial
products. It became Europe's main supplier of automotive, white goods and
apparel. The EU imports more automobiles from Türkiye than any other country.
The transition to the Customs Union in 1996 had a positive impact on Türkiye.
Trade enriches, protectionism impoverishes. For the stability and prosperity of
developing countries in particular, freer trade is essential. Countries that
are integrated into the world and have improved their business environment will
be both richer and more peaceful.”
- “Trade barriers between countries should be removed”
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed
out that Western Europe has not seen war for 80 years for the first time in
history thanks to the union established by Europe, and said that trade is the
greatest source of peace.
Stating that trade
increases productivity and employment in developing economies while raising
living standards by controlling inflation, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued as follows:
“We must remove trade
barriers between countries and increase trade with each other. We must
recognize that it is in the interest of all nations to establish a rules-based
global trade regime. The WTO has helped to bring some order to global trade and
improve international trade. As a business community, we believe that the
global trading system needs updating and reform. We support a reform of the WTO
based on the principles of inclusiveness and development that responds to the
underlying causes of the public backlash against free trade. We want the WTO to
become the dominant negotiating venue on global trade issues. We believe that a
predictable and rules-based global trading system will strengthen peace in the
world by spreading stability and prosperity.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that as TOBB, they modernized Türkiye's land customs gates with the
build-operate-transfer model and facilitated border crossings.
Stating that this is a
win-win project, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Our exporting companies reduced their
logistics costs thanks to faster customs clearance. On the other hand, we did
not bring additional burden to our state’s budget while obtaining more tax
revenue with increased transaction volume. We were selected by the UN as the
best public-private sector joint project and were shown as an example to the
world. Now we have taken action to spread this model to our surrounding region.”