DEİK’S 30TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY TOOK PLACE IN ISTANBUL

DEİK'S 30th GENERAL ASSEMBLY TOOK PLACE IN ISTANBUL

With the participation of President of Turkish Republic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of Economy of Turkish Republic Nihat Zeybekci, DEİK's 30th General Assembly took place in Istanbul on 24th of December 2016 in Istanbul and was hosted by DEİK President Ömer Cihad Vardan.

During General Assembly's opening speech, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that growth in Turkey's share in global trade is low. Erdoğan expressed that "In the last 2 years, global trade volume is either shrinking or growing sluggishly. Lately, we observe economic stagnation partially due to political dispute and global economic downturn. We are sorry for the decline in our export yet in the second quarter there is growth in Turkey's share global export." President continued "If the Balkans and North Africa are not filled with Turkish products obviously we are doing something wrong. We need to focus in this region due to our common social, cultural and economic heritage. Primarily we need to dominate our own geography. Recipe to success is to work harder and harder". Erdoğan emphasized DEİK's role in the upcoming period and continued his words with "30th General Assembly means 30 years of service, I express my gratitude to all who served, gave effort to DEİK until today. I wish success to DEİK that is accompanying my visits abroad; I want you to know that I will always be by your side. We can only reach 1 billion dollar export target and make Turkish economy among world's top 10 economies by working hard. Businessmen and especially DEİK demonstrate great ownership of Turkey's targets for 2023. Our people will not forget businessmen who trust their country. Today is very important; you are responsible to protect our country against the economic attacks to Turkish economy thus you should not delay your investments and projects.

During Minister of Economy of Republic of Turkey Nihat Zeybekci's address to delegates in the General Assembly, he indicated that DEİK's target for 2017 will be revised and next year will be a year of mobilization. Nevertheless, roadmap to 2023's targets will be reviewed. Since DEİK assembles government and private industry, it is vital to designate Turkey's export targets and translate them into an action plan. Minister continued his remarks by stating that he is pleased with the positive results of the collaboration between DEİK and Ministry of Economy thus is expecting a stronger 2017. He added that DEİK will continue to be a strategic player in Turkish economy by strongly representing private sector abroad.

DEİK President Ömer Cihad Vardanstated that DEİK completed its restructure, strategic transformation over the past two years and he presented DEİK's corporate identity renewal. DEİK President continued "With our representatives from the business world, we accompanied our President to 34 countries including Somali, Japan, Peru, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Cuba and Pakistan. We organized Business Forums in 17 countries with our prime minister; we actualized more than 50 events with the presence of our minister of economy in 45 countries over 5 continents. Over the past 2 years, DEİK hosted 116 state representatives from 68 different countries, DEİK's 134 business councils operate over 6 regions serving numerous sectors all around the world to strengthen foreign economic relations. Unlike before, our business councils had over 700 executive committee meetings abroad as well as at home to extend network and to develop relations."

Within General Assembly,DEİK President introduced DEİK's new logo and corporate identity by stating "This institute puts high effort to strengthen Turkish business world while preserving its awareness and experience, this logo and corporate identity suit institute's dynamism and culture." He continued his speech "In the new term, our goal is to shape foreign economic relations' future by producing information, creating roadmaps and executing them within Turkey's vision.

Turkey's "Global Vision" DEİK, continues with its new logo

Founded in 1986 to serve Turkey's economic transformation and to guide Turkish entrepreneurs, DEİK continues to shape Turkish economy via activities all around the world with 30 years of experience. Within the beginning of 2017, DEİK renewed its corporate identity and logo in line with its strength, speed and coverage.

Around 3,000 events over the past 2 years

DEİK's 30th General Assembly took place in 2016 with the participation of DEİK's Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Board of Auditors, 102 Founders Institutions, 134 Business Councils and company representatives over 1000.

Between 2014 and 2016, DEİK organized around 3,000 events including President Visit to 34 countries, Prime Minister Visit to 17 countries, Minister of Economy Visit to 45 countries. Meanwhile, DEİK hosted Presidents from 68 countries, 116 prime ministers and many country representatives in Turkey.