The MÜSİAD "Power of Türkiye Awards" were presented to their winners with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) President Mahmut Asmalı, noting that Türkiye has covered a very important distance in every sector over the last 20 years, from automotive to the defence industry and from construction to agriculture, said, "We have proudly witnessed achievements that were hard to imagine coming to life one by one, and we will continue to witness them, God willing. With his determined stance, his fair perspective, the importance he attaches to transparency and his vision that analyses the future well, our esteemed President encourages Türkiye to stand out by a wide margin in almost every sector."
In the speech he delivered at the "Power of Türkiye Awards" ceremony held at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) within the scope of MÜSİAD's 32nd anniversary, Asmalı expressed their hope that the Power of Türkiye Awards would inspire businesspeople, industrialists and entrepreneurs operating in different sectors.
Conveying that they contribute to economic growth within the framework of the Akhi tradition, Asmalı reported that this year, as MÜSİAD, they had merged the award ceremonies they have been holding in different categories for 17 years and transformed them into a more comprehensive and powerful program under the name "Power of Türkiye Award Ceremony".
Noting that, apart from the 9 awards to be presented today, a one-off "Power of Türkiye Special Award" would be presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Asmalı continued as follows:
"Today, in your presence, we will present the Power of Türkiye Special Award to our esteemed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who, drawing the strength of the Almighty and of the people behind him, has struggled against the centers of tutelage and the remnants of coups by paying a price, and who has ensured that sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation; who, with determination and with the principle of 'One nation, one flag, one homeland, one state', has brought terrorist organizations to their knees and secured our national unity and our safety; who, without making the slightest concession from the will of the nation, repelled the treacherous coup attempt of July 15 and taught the coup plotters and their domestic and foreign collaborators an unforgettable lesson; who, with the humanitarian foreign policy pursued from Palestine to Arakan and from Syria to Yemen, across the geography of our hearts, has made Türkiye the conscience of humanity and become a confidant to the oppressed and a companion to the destitute; who, without making any distinction, conducts peace diplomacy on every ground and in every geography, and who most recently, in the Russia-Ukraine war, brought the delegations together at the same table in İstanbul for peace and was given a standing ovation by the parties; who, by saying at every opportunity that 'The World is Bigger than Five' and 'A More Just World is Possible', questions the international system that cannot produce justice and cannot establish peace, and who gives voice to the conscience of humanity; and who, with the enormous moves made in almost every field, from education to health, from transportation to technology, and from the economy to the defence industry, is the architect of Türkiye's development and of its liberation from foreign dependency."
"Türkiye is step by step approaching its goal of taking its place among the 10 largest economies"
Drawing attention to the fact that Türkiye has covered a very important distance in every sector over the last 20 years, from automotive to the defence industry and from construction to agriculture, Mahmut Asmalı used the following words: "We have proudly witnessed achievements that were hard to imagine coming to life one by one, and we will continue to witness them, God willing. With his determined stance, his fair perspective, the importance he attaches to transparency and his vision that analyses the future well, our esteemed President encourages Türkiye to stand out by a wide margin in almost every sector. Our industrialists, who feel this strength from head to toe and press ahead undaunted in the face of difficulties, are developing products and services that are preferred in all four corners of the world"
Expressing that Türkiye is step by step approaching its goal of taking its place among the world's 10 largest economies, Asmalı made the following assessment: "Our country stood out during the Covid-19 pandemic by implementing the right action plans at the right time. With the strong performance we displayed in areas such as public order, employment, production and exports, in addition to health services, our country decoupled from the global climate of crisis."
"Our producers, industrialists and entrepreneurs entered 2022 with a much more positive perception"
Recalling that in the final months of 2021 the Turkish economy was exposed to a shock caused by the rise in the exchange rate, Asmalı stated the following:
"Following the 'Package to Encourage the Turkish Lira' announced by our esteemed President on 20 December, our producers, industrialists and entrepreneurs entered 2022 with a much more positive perception. With the measures taken, stability was once again established in the markets. In this period, our government put into practice a new economic program that will grow Türkiye through investment, employment, production, exports and a current account surplus. With the advanced technology applications in which our domestic and national production power has surged, we have reached a point where we challenge the world. Our strong supply chains and our vision of quality production have won our country brand-new markets in foreign trade. Thanks to this, exports of USD 225.4 billion were achieved last year, reaching the highest annual export figure of all time, and this year as well the export figures announced every month are breaking records, praise be to God. Türkiye became one of the G-20 countries that carried out the pandemic process most successfully, through the cooperation of our government first and foremost, our ministries, our non-governmental organizations and our private and public sector institutions. As 2023, the 100th anniversary of our Republic, approaches, we are witnessing the Turkish economy rapidly changing its shell as well."
"We will bring our permanent 640-household MÜSİAD Village project in Idlib into service this year"
MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı stated that, as MÜSİAD, they had declared 2022 the year of investment in order to provide added value to the Turkish economy, to strengthen the production projection and to give momentum to the export process.
Conveying that, in line with the 2023 targets, they had launched an investment mobilization together with their members through the "Anatolian Production and Investment Movement" at more than 40 locations, among them metropolitan cities, Asmalı reported that when these investments, with a total investment value of TRY 25 billion, are completed, new employment areas will be created for 25 thousand people, and that with these investments they aim to raise to 30 the number of provinces exceeding USD 1 billion in exports.
Sharing the information that they had established the MÜSİAD Trade Office, which will further develop trade among its members and prepare the ground for new partnerships, Asmalı conveyed that in this way they aim to further strengthen the climate of solidarity and brotherhood. Asmalı expressed his belief that the collaborations that will be formed thanks to this office will bear abundant fruit, and that world-scale major brands will be born from among the members.
Emphasizing that Türkiye is bigger than Türkiye and that it will always continue to be a refuge for the oppressed, Asmalı said, "While we were previously the country that gave the most aid in the world relative to its national income, we are now the country that gives the most aid in the world in all areas. No one leaves their homeland without reason. Opening our borders and the doors of our hearts to the migrants, victims and oppressed who face such an obligation is our debt to humanity."
Noting that they will give weight to social cohesion projects and humanitarian diplomacy activities, particularly with the contribution of young and women businesspeople, Asmalı stated the following:
"In this way we will have contributed to the establishment of social peace and trust. Within this scope, we have started our permanent MÜSİAD Village project of 640 households consisting of briquette houses in Idlib, and its construction is continuing rapidly. We will bring it into service this year, God willing. In the new period, we will support our young and women entrepreneurs even more in every field. In order to raise the generations that will be the pioneers of this world in the future, we have sown seeds with Young MÜSİAD and, praise be to God, our number has passed 4 thousand. With an environmentally friendly understanding of economics, we will carefully protect the nature that has been entrusted to us. With our social responsibility projects we will contribute to humanitarian diplomacy, and with our global moves to commercial diplomacy."
The ceremony, which took place at the Taksim Atatürk Cultural Center with the participation of, in addition to President Erdoğan, Minister of Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, President of Defence Industries Prof. Dr. İsmail Demir, AK Party Deputy Chairman Binali Yıldırım, İstanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, businesspeople, artists and academics, began with a recitation of the Holy Quran.
Afterwards, the "32nd Year Composition" that the artist Yücel Arzen composed in memory of MÜSİAD's 32nd year, and a stage performance were held. The video prepared by MÜSİAD, telling the 32-year success story since its foundation, was watched with interest. The "Power of Türkiye Award Ceremony", which is expected to make an important contribution to Türkiye's development, also witnessed the celebrations of MÜSİAD's 32nd anniversary.
The most important and most special award to President Erdoğan
Within the scope of the ceremony, following the opening speech of MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı, the announcement of the Power of Türkiye Awards began. At the ceremony, the most important and most special award was given to President Erdoğan. The "Power of Türkiye Special Award" was presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı for the first and only time.
The Power of Türkiye Award was presented in 9 categories
At the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Aykut Özdarendeli, who developed Turkovac, the "Power of Academia Award", Dünya Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Hakan Güldağ the "Power of the Press Award", Altınay Robot Teknolojileri AŞ Chairman of the Board Hakan Altınay the "Power of Transformation Award", Getir Co-Founder Tuncay Tütek the "Power of Entrepreneurship Award", Altaca Çevre Teknolojileri ve Enerji Üretim AŞ Chairman of the Board Hasan Alper Önoğlu the "Power of Climate Award", Kale Group Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zeynep Bodur Okyay the "Power of Women Award", LC Waikiki Chairman of the Board Vahap Küçük the "Power of Brand Award", Dilruba Evleri Solidarity Association Founder Hatice Dilruba the "Power of Social Responsibility Award" and Tosyalı Holding Founder and Chairman of the Board Fuat Tosyalı the "Power of Production Award" were deemed worthy.
In addition, a plaque of thanks was presented on stage by President Erdoğan and Mahmut Asmalı to Trendyol Group President Çağlayan Çetin, who supported the award ceremony in the Main Sponsor category, and a commemorative photograph was taken.