FOR THE THIRD MASTERS EXPORT MESSAGE FROM MINISTER BOLAT! 'WE HAVE FULL FAITH THAT WE WILL BREAK NEW RECORDS'

Speaking at the DEİK Ordinary Elective General Assembly, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said, "Turkey is now the 17th largest economy in the world with a production of 1 trillion 118 billion dollars. We managed to become the 11th largest economy on the basis of purchasing power parity."

The 37th Elective General Assembly of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and the Award Ceremony for Respect for the Third Masters were held at the Lütfü Kırdar International Congress and Exhibition Hall. The award ceremony held with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was attended by Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, AK Party Istanbul Provincial President Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, DEİK President Nail Olpak, DEİK Board Members, Business Council Presidents and many business people. After the opening speeches, the awards were given to their owners. The first award was given to the late businessman Ahmet Şahap Ünlü. He received the award from his son Mehmet Selahattin Ünlü, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak and DEİK President Nail Olpak. The second award was given to the late businessman Ali Osman Ulusoy, while the award was presented to his daughter Hülya Ulusoy by AK Party Vice Chairman and Head of Economic Affairs Nihat Zeybekci and Nail Olpak. The third award was given to the late businessman Şarık Tara, while Tara's award was given to her son Mehmet Tara by the Minister of Industry and Technology Fatih Kacır and Nail Olpak. The last award was given to Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, who served as the former President of DEİK between 2001 and 2014. Hisarcıklıoğlu was presented with his award by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and Nail Olpak. After the Award Ceremony, President Erdoğan delivered a speech to the participants. Trade Minister Ömer Bolat also made a speech at the program.

"WE FULLY BELIEVE THAT WE WILL BREAK NEW RECORDS"

Stating that they aim to raise Turkey among the world's top exporting countries, Bolat said, "For the development of our country's foreign trade since 1985; DEİK, which paves the way for self-sacrificing business people with its presidents, members, commissions and other organs, is one of the locomotives that pioneer our country's export mission. We have a dream and vision that our esteemed President has led and put in front of us for 21 years. 'To elevate Turkey to one of the world's top exporting countries'. For this, our government, business organizations and exporter family are working day and night together with public and private enterprises. Export means investment, production and employment. It means providing foreign currency inflow. This year, as Turkey, our goal is to earn a total of 377 billion dollars in exports and foreign exchange income with 267 billion dollars of goods exports and 110 billion dollars of service exports. Last year, we earned a total of $356.5 billion in exports and foreign exchange earnings with $255.5 billion in goods and $101 billion in services. We are confident that, God willing, we will reach this figure at the end of the year and break new records. The data of the first 5 months of this year strengthen this estimate."

"TURKEY IS THE 17TH LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD"

Ömer Bolat said, "World trade decreased by 1.2 percent last year, and world exports decreased by 5 percent. World production was stagnant at 3.2 percent. The Turkish economy, on the other hand, has achieved an annual real growth of 4.5 percent in 2023 and uninterrupted growth for the last 14 quarters. In the last 21 years, it has achieved an annual real growth rate of 5.4 percent. Turkey is now the 17th largest economy in the world with a production of 1 trillion 118 billion dollars. We managed to become the 11th largest economy on the basis of purchasing power parity. When we compare the first four months of 2024 with the same period of 2023, we see that Turkey's exports of goods increased by 2.7 percent to 83 billion dollars. Hopefully, a few days later, at the end of May, we would like to share the good news of new records with you and our people."

"THE NUMBER OF PROVINCES WITH 1 BILLION DOLLARS OF EXPORT HAS INCREASED TO 30"

Stating that the highest export figures in history have been achieved, Bolat said, "Turkish goods and services cross continents with their quality and brand power. Our beautiful country, which exported to more than 240 countries and customs regions last year, achieved the highest export levels in history in 70 of these countries. In 2023, our companies managed to export over $1 billion to 49 countries. On the other hand, exports have spread to every corner of Turkey, the number of provinces exceeding 1 billion dollars has increased to 30, and the number of exporters has reached 140 thousand. Believing in the importance of market diversification outside of Europe, which is our largest trading partner, we have put forward new export strategies, and thus we have reached annual export figures of 16 billion dollars to Africa, 22 billion dollars to the American continent and 65 billion dollars to the Asian market. Our goal is to increase the export of goods, which we have reached an average of 1 billion dollars per day as a working day today, to the level of 1.5 billion dollars per day in the vision of the Century of Turkey put forward by our President to us, to our country."

"WE HAVE DOUBLED OUR SERVICE EXPORT SUPPORT IN 2024"

Stating that the service export support doubled in 2024, Bolat said, "On the other hand, Turkish contracting companies have undertaken around 12,200 projects in 136 different countries since 1972. And the total value of these projects exceeded 507 billion dollars. Before 2002, the total amount of projects won in 30 years was 50 billion dollars. Being aware of the fact that all these efforts are carried out with support and motivation, we, as the Ministry of Commerce, stand by you at every stage of export, from the preparation stage for export to marketing, from the creation of overseas distribution channels to global brand transformation. With the instructions of our government and President, we provide 60 percent of our Ministry of Commerce budget as support to our exporters."

"I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO BE IN UNITY OF STRENGTH AND HEART"

Speaking at the program, DEİK President Nail Olpak said, "The human tragedy inflicted by Israel in Gaza continues. I wish for an immediate end to the inhumane process in which civilians, women and children are targeted, and for a lasting peace to be established immediately. In this contextAs the business world, we find it important and support the decision of our government to stop exports and imports to Israel until adequate and continuous assistance is provided. We are aware of the commercial repercussions of the decision taken and I thank our President for his statement that they will take the process in consultation with the business world. From this point of view, I believe that we should be in unity of strength and heart in order to reduce suffering in the global order, to make income distribution as fair as possible, and to beautify the world by prioritizing people."

Source: https://www.haberler.com/ekonomi/deik-duayen-is-insanlarini-onurlandirdi-17369660-haberi/