"Seeing the government stand by us, the private sector is working with morale boost"
25 July 2017 Tuesday

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We have provided 1.2 million additional jobs in Turkey in the last 6 months thanks to the employment mobilization and the historic level of support provided by our government.”

TOBB Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Chambers of Commerce, Chambers of Industry, Commodity Exchanges and Maritime Trade Councils Joint Meeting was hosted by TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu with the attendances of Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Customs and Trade Minister Bulent TÜFENKÇİ as well as TOBB Board Members and Council Chairs and members.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that as councils, being a part of all trade, industry, maritime and agriculture-livestock sectors, they form the capillaries of the economy in 81 provinces, being able to observe all developments as they happen, whether it be positive or negative.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that culture of consultation has solved many problems, “Recently, it has been the biggest factor in the economy's revival, increasing growth, employment, exports. Seeing the government stand by us, the private sector is working more fervently with its morale boost.”

Explaining that they have broken a world record with employment mobilization, the TOBB President continued: “We have provided 1.2 million additional jobs in Turkey in the last 6 months thanks to the employment mobilization and the historic level of support provided by our government. Those who achieved this are our Chambers and Commodity Exchanges community. We have transformed our step-by-step initiative by listening to the voice of our business world to a worldwide success story.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that they provide SMEs with TOBB Respite Credit, stating that 27,000 companies have benefited from the loan, “Our chambers-exchanges in 81 provinces, brought together all the resources at their disposal, with a 9.9% interest rate for SMEs TOBB Respite Credit has been benefited from by 27,000 companies. KOSGEB Business Credit Support has reached 260,000 SMEs.

Finally, the bails capacity of the Credit Guarantee Fund, which is the founding partner of the Chambers-Exchanges, has raised to 250 billion liras. 300,000 companies were granted access to finance. In other words, thanks to the positive approach of our Minister, 587,000 companies in total have been able to maintain their businesses in the first 6 months.”

- “I believe we will maintain high growth”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that all of these steps led to growth in exports, employment and the economy. “Economic growth of 5% in the first quarter is a level that can only be reached by a few countries in the world. In the coming quarters, I believe we will maintain this high growth rate. I hope that this year will exceed expectations.”

Stating that those attacking Turkey will never succeed, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Standing together we will never be defeated. Every time they attack, we, the Turkish business community, will work harder and produce more for the future of our country. We will be at the disposal of our nation. Together we will accomplish much greater undertakings for the real sector. We will put our country among the biggest economies of the world through cooperation.”

- Customs and Trade Minister Tüfenkci and Minister of Economy Zeybekci

Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci also said that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, employment has reached over 1.488 million as a part of the employment mobilization.

Tüfenkci said that Turkey has achieved a high growth rate of 5% in 2017, emphasizing that it is among the fastest growing economies despite the treacherous coup attempt of July 15th, and that this figure should be further studied to move on to higher levels.

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci explained that the bureaucrats of the Ministry have visited companies in some cases to inform about incentives and supports, and they’ve had the opportunity to see all the elements they see on the paper in person.

Minister Zeybekci noted that TOBB has signed an agreement that it should be one of the founders of the Turkish Trade Centers opened abroad by the Ministry of Economy.