Esteemed Minister,

Distinguished guests,

Dear MÜSİAD Family,

Esteemed members of the Press,

It gives me pleasure to be together with you on the occasion of this meaningful programme, which we are holding under the hosting of our MÜSİAD Kocaeli Branch, and on behalf of myself and of the MÜSİAD family I respectfully greet you all. I extend my particular gratitude to our Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Mr Murat Kurum, who has honoured us with his presence. Honourable Minister

Distinguished Guests

As you know, the great disaster we experienced on 6 February 2023 left deep marks in the memory of our nation. This destruction, which affected 11 of our provinces, did not only cause physical losses; it also seriously shook economic life, production and trade. But at the same time it brought forth a powerful spirit of solidarity.

As MÜSİAD, we were in the field with all our organizations from the very first moment of the earthquake. Our members from all four corners of Türkiye mobilized. We delivered more than 3,000 aid trucks to the region. Food, water, basic necessities and logistical support were provided without interruption.

In the 750-square-metre event tent we set up in Kahramanmaraş, the MÜSİAD Soup Kitchen served three hot meals a day to 10,000 of our citizens. This service was later transferred to the relevant local institutions. We completed living areas of 1,200 containers in Elbistan and 677 in Adıyaman. We contributed to the field hospital in Hatay Defne.

We took steps for social life to get back on its feet. We built a mosque in Elbistan. We opened the MÜSİAD-Kızılay Library, which we brought to life in cooperation with the Turkish Red Crescent. We built the MÜSİAD Health Centre.

We activated our Qard al-Hasan Fund so that our members affected by the earthquake and the business world of the region could return to production. With interest-free support we stood by our business people. Through the member matching system we contributed to the revival of commercial life. We saw the recovery of the regional economy as the fundamental condition of lasting recovery. We still strive to support the region as far as we are able through our branches in the earthquake zone.

In this process, not only we as MÜSİAD but all the citizens, institutions and organizations of our country demonstrated, in a great mobilization, the finest example of solidarity and togetherness.

Honourable Minister

Beyond all this, there are also the heroes of this process. Thanks to the strong will demonstrated personally, above all, by our Honourable President and by yourself, our country has written a story that cannot be measured by financial means and capability. Within this short period, with 455,000 homes having been delivered to their rightful owners, a success has been achieved that no other country in the world could have managed.

The earthquake zone has been turned into what is virtually the world’s largest construction site, and an organizational capability that draws attention on a global scale has been demonstrated. In the contacts we make abroad, this capability displayed in the earthquake zone is asked of us with amazement by our counterparts.

On this occasion, on behalf of myself and of our institution, I once again thank our Honourable Minister above all, our Ministry and all the relevant institutions within it for this will they have demonstrated and for the risk they have taken.

Honourable Minister,

Today we are now at a new stage. We must carefully evaluate the experience gained after 6 February. The Marmara Region is our country’s most critical region in terms of population density and industrial capacity. Every step to be taken in this region is of direct importance for Türkiye’s economic stability.

As much as the planning of earthquake-resilient cities, the reviewing of industrial facilities and organized industrial zones according to disaster scenarios is of equally critical importance. We must make our production infrastructure safe.

Here today, besides Kocaeli and İstanbul, there are MÜSİAD members of ours participating from Sakarya, Bursa, Yalova, Düzce, Balıkesir, İnegöl and Zonguldak, that is, from Marmara and the surrounding provinces. As industrialists, we attach the utmost importance to this initiative-taking and executive attitude displayed by our Ministry being applied to industrial structures as well. In this sense, as MÜSİAD we are ready to do whatever falls to us.

I believe that the assessments we will carry out here today will contribute to preparing our manufacturing and production areas, as much as our cities, for a sounder and safer future.

As the business world, we too state that we are ready to make the contribution that falls to us in line with this goal.

As I bring my words to an end, I once again pray for God’s mercy upon all our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquakes of 6 February and wish patience to their relatives.

I once again thank our Honourable Minister for honouring us with his presence and for MÜSİAD’s members, hope that our programme will be a means of goodness, and thank each and every one of you for your participation.