The 24th International Business Forum (IBF), attended by industrialists and businesspeople from all four corners of the world, began with the agenda of the "Virus Economy".
The International Business Forum (IBF), which has been operating as MÜSİAD's international platform since 1995 and which brings together businesspeople from the business world of 25 countries through an annual congress and the accompanying commercial activities, was held for the 24th time this year, hosted by TÜYAP.
In this difficult time the world is going through, at the forum which hosted country representatives and businesspeople and which was organized with great sacrifice in line with pandemic theories and TSE COVID 19 Safe Service standards, IBF President Erol Yarar said in his speech;
"If we do not take today's photograph well, if we cannot make our diagnoses correctly, we cannot carry out the treatment. Through sectoral analyses, we will be listening to our experts on what today and tomorrow will bring. Life in the world has turned into a great crisis it has not seen in any century. When we look at the statistics around the world, 56 million people die every year. At the moment this disease stands at 1.300 thousand people in 11 months. Statistically it has increased by %1.5. When you look at how the world's economy contracts, there is only one explanation. When psychology broke down, the economy broke down as well." he said.
COVID HAS CHANGED THE WAY WE LIVE AND TRADE
Recalling that governments around the world took very rapid decisions and that fiscal and economic measures worth 7 trillion dollars were announced, Yarar spoke as follows: "The world statistics showed that the second wave would be much larger. The second wave came in bigger than the first. It is necessary to continue with the economic measures exactly as they are. Inflation is not an item on the agenda at the moment. The point is to keep businesses on their feet. The point of no return is the closure of a business. All developing countries around the world, like following without interruption the pulse of a patient in the emergency room, are constantly increasing their governments' support. If businesses close, there is no return from this. If you have a restaurant today and you say you will close it down, what will you do with the employee? What will you do with the business?"
Touching on the fact that COVID has permanently changed lifestyles, including shopping habits, and that in industrial trade those who use e-commerce at the maximum level together with the subject of logistics will be successful, Yarar said, "We have to find solutions to the problems that increase unemployment and drive people into social and individual traumas. That is why our emphasis on the virus economy at the IBF is our wish that the virus, which is the unchanging risk of the 21st century, be brought to an end in a short time for the benefit of humanity"
In the IBF opening speeches, MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan emphasized that most governments, whatever their economic size, were of course caught unprepared by this global crisis, which has left people face to face with deep-rooted weaknesses in public health and social security systems.
Pointing out that the shift of the G-20 day by day towards a G-2 structure consisting of the USA and China poses a serious danger for all the other actors of the global economy, Kaan continued his speech as follows: "In the new period, we must develop a critical and common political language directed at the restructuring of the main institutions of the global system, primarily the G-20, the World Bank, the IMF and the World Trade Organization. It is not possible for the leading actors of the global struggle for hegemony, which we predict will be even harsher in the period after the virus epidemic, to preserve their place at the table while leaving Türkiye out of the equation."
Stating that the monetary power of a country determines its production and investment power, and warning that if we try to explain and even to solve real economic principles with financial policy instruments we will both force the money in the system to remain idle and run the danger of being deprived of the investment and production power that is essential for development, MÜSİAD President Kaan spoke as follows:
"We wholeheartedly support the economic development mobilization launched by our esteemed President and built on three pillars. When confidence was instilled in the markets, we tested within a short time how Türkiye once again became a centre of attraction in the eyes of foreign investors thanks to its strong geopolitical advantage. However, we hope that this determination will continue in the period ahead as well and that, by moving to a macro production policy, the production of inputs and semi-finished goods that will reduce the risk of cost inflation, which is one of our country's most important problems, will also be realized through a national production drive rather than through imports."
Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati, one of the IBF speakers, emphasized that Türkiye provides great convenience for investors and that these conveniences have begun to be reflected in the data, and said:
"Türkiye, which ranked 43rd last year in the general ranking of the Doing Business Index prepared regularly every year by the World Bank, rose 10 places in 2020 to become the 33rd country in which it is easiest to do business. The greatest progress in the index was essentially achieved in the field of taxation, which is under the responsibility of our Ministry, and in this field our ranking rose from 80th to 26th."
MÜSİAD is an organization that represents the business world, whichever sector, whichever field and whoever it may be in Türkiye. We are going through a historic period with the steps taken without feeling the fever in the market and with the deferral of loans. With the steps resorted to in Türkiye, we are getting through this with very little damage. The support we have provided has reached TRY 530 billion.
Perception has got ahead of fact. Realities, needs, fears; changes are taking place in all our lives. The effect it leaves behind as it passes is important. How the measures were provided. Our workplaces, factories, countries, families, our health system and our education system have tested what they will do. We will adapt to change and we will walk on here. There are opportunities in a crisis environment. How we make use of these opportunities is important. Without abandoning the measures, we must make use of the opportunities with the concern of whether I am earning rightfully.
Stating that support continues with a restructuring worth TRY 500 billion, Nebati concluded his speech as follows: "In the coming period, legal and democratic reforms will be carried out in Türkiye. We will implement transparent policies and do what is necessary so that investors are not crushed by high interest rates."