Honourable Vice President,
Most Esteemed Minister,
Esteemed MÜSİAD Members,
Distinguished Guests,
I greet you all with respect on behalf of the MÜSİAD Family and on my own behalf; welcome to the 5th Ordinary General Assembly of our MÜSİAD Azerbaijan Branch, you have honoured us. Once again, in your presence, I thank the Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Cevdet Yılmaz, and our Minister of Trade, Mr. Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat, who honoured us today with their attendance.
Today MÜSİAD is a business world organization on an international scale that goes beyond the borders of our country, with more than 14 thousand members, more than 60 thousand companies represented under its roof, and 100 points of representation in 78 locations in Türkiye and in 84 countries abroad. MÜSİAD member companies, which provide employment for more than 3 million people in Türkiye alone, produce more than %30 of our country’s gross domestic product.
Our nearly 4,000 members registered with our overseas organizations, which extend from Europe to Africa and from Asia to the American continent and are structured on all the continents of the world, represent a body that thinks on a global scale, reads local dynamics and has a strong presence in the field.
Within this organizational network, Azerbaijan holds a special place because of its strategic position and historical ties. Our Azerbaijan Branch not only contributes to the development of economic relations between the two countries; it also stands out as one of the concrete and institutional examples of Turkic world cooperation in the field. MÜSİAD regards the Turkic world as the name not only of a shared past but also of a shared economic future, and considers building a strong ground for cooperation based on production, trade and investment in this geography to be a strategic responsibility.
Today the world is passing through a period in which the global order we have grown accustomed to over many long years is being seriously shaken. The trade rules, financial systems, supply chains and geopolitical balances that were long considered predictable no longer inspire the same confidence. The global system has turned into a structure that struggles to manage the problems it produces itself. For this reason, we must read the picture we are experiencing not merely as a temporary crisis, but as a natural consequence of the old order reaching its limits.
The uncertainty that has increased in recent years in fact means far more than mere disorder. Economic fluctuations, regional conflicts, energy and food security problems, the effects of the climate crisis and the pace of technological transformation are making the search for a new balance on a global scale
necessary. This state of disorder has become a permanent normal in some geographies. Yet it must not be forgotten that disorder is at the same time the herald of a new order.
The real issue we should be discussing today is this: what kind of order will the new order to be established be?
An order that will rest solely on power relations? Or an order that will be built upon common sense and shared responsibility?
The year 2025 has been precisely a year in which these questions intensified for the global economy. Growth rates slowed worldwide, access to financing became more difficult, and companies and countries were forced to redefine risk management. In this period, it was not only the fast-growing structures but the sound and resilient ones that were able to remain standing.
At this point, the responsibility falling to the business world is greater than ever. Today the issue is not only economic success. The issue is to protect employment in the geographies where we are located, to safeguard social balance, and to be able to display a prudent stance in the face of global uncertainties.
Within the new order that will take shape, we must build our economy upon an understanding that is more resilient, more inclusive and human-centred. While the economy grows, the socio-economic
structures of societies must not become fragile, and while technology advances, the human being must not be left behind. Otherwise it will not be possible to speak of a sustainable future.
Honourable Vice President, Honourable Minister, Esteemed Guests,
Türkiye and Azerbaijan, because of the bond of brotherhood and the historical depth between the two countries, must set forth together their understanding of and strategic vision for the order of the future.
History is calling us. This nation has always known how to rise whenever it has been called; and today history expects the same will from us.
In this regard, I would like to announce that in the coming year we will hold the Turkic World Investment and Business Forum in Karabağ in cooperation with KOBİA and MÜSİAD. With participants from all the countries of the Turkic World, we will further deepen our work towards a shared strategic vision,
As I bring my remarks to a close, I hope that our General Assembly will be a means to good outcomes for our community and for Türkiye–Azerbaijan brotherhood; and I once again wish success to our new administration.
I extend my gratitude to all our guests, above all our Vice President and our Minister of Trade, for their participation and contributions, and I offer my respects.