GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPEECH

KARAMAN / 14 January 2023

Our Most Esteemed Branch President and Honourable Members of our Board of Directors,

My dear brothers and sisters from Karaman,

I greet you all with respect and affection.

We are very happy to be together with you in Karaman today.

I pray to Almighty God that our General Assembly may be a means of goodness.

Our esteemed members, distinguished guests,

Wisdom, chastity and courage are our motto. Only when these virtues are complete in us can we remain on the right path. As MÜSİAD, we have been continuing on our way with steadfastness and determination for 32 years.

MÜSİAD, which has reached a total of 165 branches and contact points on a global scale, both adds value to the economy of Türkiye with its more than 13 thousand members and nearly 60 thousand companies, and leads the development of different forms of cooperation at home and abroad.

MÜSİAD is not only a global platform of cooperation and capital, but also a development movement that draws its strength from our rich values of civilization and from the wisdom of Anatolia. The members of this movement always keep their hopes alive, they work sincerely, they never abandon their ideals, they believe in the Truth and serve the people, they always run with love; and honesty is the essential characteristic of the members of this movement.

With our global network, our international initiatives such as EXPO and IBF, and our new projects such as MUSİAD Invest, MÜSİAD is an effective actor of commercial diplomacy. At the same time, our MÜSİAD is a compassionate institution of humanitarian diplomacy that rushes to the aid of the oppressed, the aggrieved and the migrants.

Esteemed guests, dear friends,

Following a highly successful year, we are working to carry out important undertakings in 2023 as well. The 2nd Turkish-Arab Business Summit, which we held in Gaziantep in 2022 with the participation of more than 1,300 Turkish and Arab businessmen, took its place in our history as the largest business forum of the Middle East. This year we will hold the 3rd Turkish-Arab Business Summit in Konya, the centre of agriculture, food and industry, the capital of the Seljuk State, the city where trade and history meet. With the “International Business Forum (IBF) 3rd Turkish-Arab Business Summit”, which we will hold on 5-7 May 2023, we aim to bring together more than 2,000 businessmen from 40 countries in our Konya.

Through the bilateral business meetings and the fair organization we will hold within the scope of the Summit, we want to increase the international commercial integration of our industrialists and businessmen. Again, with the conference titled “Food Security and the Preservation of Generations” to be held within the scope of the Summit, we will, God willing, fulfil an important responsibility by drawing attention to food security, one of the most strategic issues of our day, and to the effects of food on the human generation.

On this occasion, we already invite all our businessmen to the 3rd Turkish-Arab Business Summit that we will hold in our Konya on 5-7 May 2023, and we hope that it will bring goodness to our country and our region.

Esteemed guests, my dear brothers and sisters,

Despite the geopolitical risks that ran high in 2022 in the aftermath of the global pandemic and despite the slowing global economy, the economy of Türkiye succeeded in growing above the world and G20 averages thanks to its dynamic and flexible structure. That our economy continued to grow in such a difficult period, when recession and stagflation scenarios were being discussed in developed countries, is a clear indication of how greatly Türkiye has strengthened its immunity against external shocks.

The fact that the highway and the railway connecting Central Anatolia to the Mediterranean pass through here, and that it lies on the historic Silk Road, has a great influence on the economic life of Karaman today. As investments targeting export-oriented production in the agriculture-based industrial sector in Karaman gained pace from the beginning of the 1990s, significant improvements also began to be recorded in employment. Ranking 42nd among the provinces of Türkiye with the highest exports in 2022, Karaman's exports increased by %21.7 compared with the previous year and rose to USD 334.4 million. I wholeheartedly congratulate my fellow business people of Karaman.

Esteemed guests, my dear brothers and sisters,

General assemblies are periods of refreshment and renewal. As MÜSİAD, we preserve our dynamism and our enthusiasm by working day and night, by renewing ourselves constantly at every level, by handing over the watch from time to time and by growing in a healthy manner. Together with MÜSİAD Women and Young MÜSİAD, we strengthen our family and constantly deepen our sphere of influence by expanding it. With our sector boards and our rich organizational structure, we reach into the capillary veins of our economy. It is very important for our Branch General Assemblies to be productive in order to make this strong structure sustainable. In this respect, I hope that the general assembly of our Karaman branch will be successful and that its results will be auspicious. I congratulate our esteemed board members who served in the previous term. I wholeheartedly wish success to our friends who will take up new duties.

These duties are sacred trusts for us. Only by guarding them with the utmost sensitivity and by handing them over to our new friends when the time comes can we do justice to this trust. Our duties, which we carry out by observing our alliance and the law of brotherhood, will continue with the consciousness of a foundation and with the Akhi tradition for as long as we live, God willing.

My dear brothers and sisters, our esteemed members,

As the MÜSİAD family, we have very great responsibilities. In this delicate period, by completely abandoning personal ambitions and calculations, we will work selflessly, sincerely and devotedly for our nation and our country, we will produce, and with God's permission we will together usher in a new era of resurgence.

As I conclude my remarks with these feelings and thoughts, I once again hope that our general assembly will be a means of goodness, and I wish success to our brothers and sisters who will take up duties in the new term.

Stay well. May God protect you.

President of MÜSİAD

Mahmut Asmalı