MÜSİAD EXPO 2020, the largest fair held after the pandemic and one that drew intense interest from both exhibitors and visitors, was successfully completed. Nearly 15 thousand visitors from 102 countries, chiefly from Europe, Asia-Pacific, Eurasia, Africa and the MENA countries, attended the four-day fair. At the fair, held under the slogan “Global Trade Is Here”, 400 purchasing delegations from 50 countries were hosted. At the summit, where a great many events were staged, 19 memoranda of understanding (MoU) with parties from 4 continents were also signed. The virtual fair of EXPO 2020 will be open to online visitors until 28 November.
MÜSİAD EXPO 2020, organized every two years by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) in order to be the language of communication and the bridge of the Turkish economy in the fields of trade and investment, was successfully completed.
This year the fair not only was the most widely attended fair of the pandemic period; it also consolidated its strong brand image by achieving many firsts, hosting nearly 15 thousand visitors in an area of 70 thousand square metres.
MÜSİAD EXPO, held at the TÜYAP Fair and Congress Centre in accordance with the pandemic rules and the TSE COVID 19 Safe Service standards, also received participation and visits from the virtual environment thanks to its distinction of being the first hybrid fair. In the organization, carried out without disregarding the Mask, Distance, Hygiene rule in any way, all exhibitors and visitors were admitted after careful checks, and contactless technologies were used in the fairground.
The fair, opened by Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, was also visited by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister Varank said: “Comprehensive events such as MÜSİAD EXPO enable us to develop new collaborations with countries where our trade volume is low. In these difficult days we are going through, the opportunities for joint investment, joint production and joint trade established between countries will make it possible to develop a strong economic immunity against the pandemic. The winners of the post-pandemic period will be those who build cooperation today and act quickly.”
HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES FROM 24 SECTORS TOOK PART
MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan, who said that 400 purchasing delegations from 50 countries had been hosted within the scope of MÜSİAD EXPO 2020, stated that they had held MÜSİAD EXPO 2020, attended by hundreds of companies from 24 sectors, in order to be effective and useful in the economic road map of the new period during this difficult process of the pandemic.
Recalling that participation with stands had been secured from many countries, from Venezuela to Uzbekistan and from Indonesia to Germany, Kaan said: “The intense demand from the countries of Europe, Asia-Pacific, Eurasia, Africa and MENA encouraged us in terms of supporting our country's investment policies for the new period.”
TÜYAP General Manager İlhan Ersözlü, who said that MÜSİAD Expo was held at the TÜYAP Fair and Congress Centre in accordance with the pandemic rules and the TSE COVID 19 Safe Service standards, MÜSİAD EXPO continues to host its exhibitors and visitors from the virtual environment as well thanks to its distinction of being the first Hybrid fair. He stated that in the organization we carried out without disregarding the Mask, Distance, Hygiene rule in any way, they admitted all exhibitors and visitors after careful checks and used contactless technologies in the fairground. According to the results of the survey we conducted with our exhibitors after the fair, we determined that 89 percent of our exhibitors were satisfied with the fair and again that %96 of our exhibitors are considering taking part in the next fair. These results we obtained pleased us greatly and I would like to state that we have already quickly begun the preparations for the 2022 fair. Ersözlü, who said that they hosted the purchasing delegations at Tüyap Palas in the best way, as the TÜYAP Management I thank Müstakil Fuarcılık and the MÜSİAD management for the cooperation on the MÜSİAD EXPO 2020 Fair." he said.
GREAT INTEREST IN THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AREA AT EXPO 2020
Conveying that in the Entrepreneurship Area, one of the firsts of this year's fair, projects that have become Türkiye's new investment power were exhibited and that this area attracted considerable interest from visitors, Kaan underlined that the electric vehicles, the rightful pride of the Turkic world, which met with visitors within the scope of the fair, were likewise received with intense interest.
A GREAT MANY FIRSTS WERE ACHIEVED
At this year's EXPO, the Caravan Tourism initiatives, designed as a project by MÜSİAD for the first time and, within the scope of the project for developing new tourism resources and diversifying tourism investments, presented to the public and finding a considerable base for themselves, were also exhibited.At the fair, the launches of the Smart Agriculture City Project in MÜSİAD Valley, the Caravan Park Project, the Pandemic (Field) Hospital and above all the Investment, Production and Trade Bases projects that will be MÜSİAD's National Production Base, as well as of the MÜSİAD Future, MÜSİAD Innova, MÜSİAD Invest, MÜSİAD Academy, 2023 YEREL and MÜSİAD TIA brands were also held.
Introduced at MÜSİAD EXPO, the MÜSİAD Investment, Production and Trade Bases are projects launched so that SMEs may grow with the logic of an incubation centre in living spaces whose conditions have been considered at every stage, namely investment, production and trade. The production bases, in which all needs will be met within the same environment in every kind of disaster and possible renewed pandemic situations and in which production and trade will continue in a healthy manner without interruption, comprise living spaces where employers and workers can live comfortably together with their families.
IBF BROUGHT THE WORLD'S BUSINESSPEOPLE TOGETHER FOR THE 24TH TIME
MÜSİAD EXPO also hosted a great many events. The 24th International Business Forum (IBF), attended by industrialists and businesspeople from all over the world, discussed the agenda of the "Virus Economy". Throughout the meetings, the post-pandemic world order was examined.
At the forum, which hosted country representatives and businesspeople in this difficult time the world is going through, IBF President Erol Yarar said in his speech: "If we do not take a good picture of today, if we cannot make our diagnoses correctly, we cannot carry out the treatment. It will be useful to hear sectoral analyses and what today and tomorrow will be from our experts. Life in the world has turned into a great crisis it has not seen in any century. When we look at the statistics in the world, 56 million people die every year. At present, deaths due to this disease have increased statistically by %1.5. When you look at how the world economy contracts, there is only one explanation. When psychology deteriorated, the economy deteriorated too" he said.
THE MEETING POINT OF THE WORLD'S HONORARY CONSULS
One of these was the ‘MÜSİAD-World Honorary Consuls Trade and Diplomacy Summit’, where honorary consuls, among the leading elements of diplomacy that has become the language of communication of trade, came together in order to contribute to trade and investment networks. At the summit, which brought together honorary consuls regarded as important players of international trade and which was attended by around 50 honorary consuls, the commercial and economic diplomacy of different countries, chiefly between Türkiye and the USA, Europe and the Asian countries, was discussed.
MÜSİAD, which to date has signed a total of 193 agreements with various institutions and organizations, through the International Cooperation Agreements Signing Ceremony signed memoranda of goodwill and cooperation (MoU) with 20 new counterpart organizations from 4 continents, thereby taking steps towards the development of exports and trade relations between countries.
MÜSİAD WORLD GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD (DGİK) WAS HELD
Another event held throughout MÜSİAD EXPO was the MÜSİAD World General Administrative Board. The meeting took place with the participation of MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan, President of the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of the MÜSİAD Global High Board Mehmet Fatih Keçebir, President of the Local High Board Ahmet Şekerli, MÜSİAD board of directors members, and branch presidents and representatives from at home and abroad.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Hasan Büyükdede, one of the visitors on the last day of the fair, said: “We have been present at all of MÜSİAD's fairs from the period when MÜSİAD started its first fair until today. At every MÜSİAD fair we encounter an organization that is more advanced than the previous one, with many exhibitors and rich content. MÜSİAD's fairs are very important. I believe that the hybrid fair held to strengthen trade despite the pandemic period has been beneficial’ he said.