Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
My dear brothers and sisters of Kırşehir,
Esteemed members of the press,
I greet you with respect and reverence.
Following the friendly gathering we held yesterday with our esteemed members at our Nevşehir Representative Office, today we are carrying out the opening of the new service building of our Kırşehir Branch.
May God be pleased with all our members who have laboured and made an effort. I thank the entire MÜSİAD Family for their contributions.
We are very happy to be together with you, our friends, in Kırşehir, the land of Ahi Evran Veli, of Aşıkpaşa, of Ahmed-i Gülşehri and of our master Neşet.
Dear members of MÜSİAD,
MÜSİAD is an independent and virtuous association of business people that has embraced national and spiritual values, that has adopted morality and honesty as its principle, that embodies universal values such as the observance of right and law together with fair sharing and solidarity, and that brings to the fore contributing to social development and mutual assistance.
The vision of MÜSİAD is to be a civil society organization formed by people who do business virtuously, who are trusted throughout the world, who are leaders in production and innovation, who set the agenda and who provide economic prosperity to their country and their nation.
The vision of MÜSİAD is in essence the vision of Ahi Evran Veli.
In Anatolia too, the foundation of the economy was laid by Ahi Evran Veli and the Akhis around him. We must understand Ahi Evran-ı Veli very well. The principles set forth by him and by the Akhis around him made it possible for craftsmanship, brotherhood, solidarity, production, investment and employment to reach our day. That is why our foremost duty is to carry this beautiful legacy left by Ahi Evran and his companions on to the coming generations, in the same way as our forefathers carried it to this day.
Dear MÜSİAD Family,
As MÜSİAD, every single meeting we hold and every visit we make in Anatolia, to which our roots are tightly bound, is very precious to us…
These lands are the centre of labour, of tolerance, of love and of sharing. The foundations of our MÜSİAD, which is a “family hearth” for us, were laid exactly 33 years ago with the abundance of these lands, with the power of sharing and labour, and with the faith, determination and resolve of 12 young business people.
MÜSİAD, whose very name has become identified with the sweat of the brow, set out with the aim of opening the strength of Anatolia to the world and strengthening local development. From that day to this, it continues its march in the cause of civilization.
As the late Muharrem Ertaş said, “He who works with love does not grow weary.” And we too run with love and work with love… That is why we are always on our feet, always on the alert.
As MÜSİAD, for 33 years under the roof of MÜSİAD we have carried out a great many beneficial works both for our country and for our people. While carrying the strength we draw from Anatolia to the four corners of the world, we have never compromised our ideals or our essence.
Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
Our agenda is of course very busy. We are carrying out many activities together… But there is one item on our agenda that leaves everything else behind…
As we all know, a great human tragedy is being experienced in Gaza. Israel is carrying out a great massacre without regard for any target…
“When everything is over, what we will remember will not be the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
These words of the late Aliya İzzetbegoviç are always in our minds.
We have never remained silent and we never will.
Yes, for more than a month a great genocide has been taking place in Gaza. Israel is committing a massacre without regard for any target, without distinguishing woman, child or innocent. It tramples on human rights and international law and holds them in contempt…
We condemn Israel, which is responsible for this barbaric oppression and which commits crimes against humanity, and all the governments and international centres of power that support it.
We support Türkiye’s intensive diplomatic activities for the declaration of a ceasefire and the establishment of a lasting peace in the region, and we call on international centres of power to join these initiatives.
Humanitarian aid work for Palestine continues intensively, and we too, as the MÜSİAD family, always support humanitarian aid campaigns.
What was it that our late master Neşet Ertaş said…
“Beware, O son of man,
Do not hurt a soul, do not hurt,
Every soul is a heart bound to the Truth,
Do not hurt a soul, do not hurt...”
Once again we condemn the tyrants who hurt the human being and humanity, and we consign them to the Truth.
Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
In the space of 33 years, without compromising our principles, we have both increased our activities and expanded our organization. As of today, thanks be to God, we are the most widely organized civil society organization in Türkiye.
Today MÜSİAD continues its successful work with great determination at its 84 locations at home, with 13 thousand members. In addition, we serve our members in a total of 81 countries, from the east to the west of the world, through our liaison offices spread across a global network of exactly 169 points. God willing, we will carry this number further upwards in the period ahead.
The economy of our Kırşehir is largely based on agriculture. Its industry and trade are also developing with sure steps. In Kırşehir, which ranked 39th among the provinces of Türkiye with the highest exports thanks to the %18.3 increase it achieved in 2022 compared with the previous year, exports of approximately USD 366.0 million were made, and the share of the automotive sector within this was %92.0. In Kırşehir, which in this period succeeded in exporting goods and services to exactly 113 countries, the first three places were taken by the USA, Germany and the Netherlands. Together we will work with all our might so that trade and industry in our Kırşehir may come to life and our capacity may increase. As MÜSİAD, we will follow closely and support the development initiatives of our Kırşehir, God willing.
Dear members of MÜSİAD,
As I bring my remarks to an end, I thank all those devoted to MÜSİAD, from our founding cadre who laboured to bring our MÜSİAD to this day, to our newest member. I pray for God’s mercy upon those who have passed away.
I thank our MÜSİAD Kırşehir branch president and his board, and you, our esteemed guests, very much for your participation, and I greet you all with respect and reverence.
May God protect you.
Mahmut Asmalı
President of MÜSİAD