MÜSİAD Europe General Administrative Board Vienna-Austria
3-5 April 2025
Our esteemed branch presidents,
Dear friends, esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
Esteemed representatives of our business world,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
As I begin my remarks, I congratulate you on the recent Ramadan Feast and greet you all with respect and affection. Welcome, you have brought us joy…
As MÜSİAD, I feel great happiness at coming together at this important event in order to emphasize the strength and the importance of our international organization.
As all of us know very well, since its foundation MÜSİAD has at all times carried upon itself the identity and the responsibility of being a strong civil society organization not only in Türkiye but also in all four corners of the world.
On the path we set out upon with this mission, we attached great importance to organization with both our material and our spiritual investments, and we continue to do so. Because we believe deeply in the great mobilizing power and the spiritual effect of organization. Because we believe that organization is, so to speak, a complete element of “spiritual investment”.
So what is this spiritual investment? How does it come about? With what is it made, what are its most fundamental instruments?
Today, with your permission, I would like to speak a little about this concept of “spiritual investment” that makes us who we are…
On this occasion I would like to emphasize once again that, as MÜSİAD, we attach great importance not only to economic investments but also to spiritual investments. For we are a civil society organization that targets not only economic development but also the development of the soul and the conscience.
Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
For us, spiritual investment means remaining attached to our roots, keeping the wisdom of Anatolia alive and carrying the spirit of these lands into the future. MÜSİAD has made it its duty to transmit from generation to generation not only commercial successes but at the same time national and spiritual values.
We set out as a civil society organization that cares about the moral development of our country as well as its economic development. That is why spiritual investment constitutes the soul of all our work.
Our national values, our religious values and the deep-rooted wisdom of Anatolia are indispensable for us. These values are not merely memories of the past; they are at the same time the fundamental elements that build the future. We draw nourishment from these values and continue on our way with these values. That is precisely why, in every organization of MÜSİAD, at both the local and the global level, we keep to the fore an understanding that reflects the spirit of Anatolia.
That is precisely why, as MÜSİAD, we believe that economic power is lasting when it is combined with spiritual power and resolve. Our spiritual investments are the cornerstones that strengthen the social structure and keep us attached to our roots. By combining the knowledge and wisdom of the past with the dynamism of today, we advance towards the future with firm steps. The values that guide us on this path are our compass both in the business world and in social life.
Dear friends,
As MÜSİAD, we strengthen our organizational power not only through our physical presence but at the same time through the values we carry and our consciousness of responsibility. We work day and night in order to fly our flag in different geographies of the world, to be the voice of our businesspeople and to represent Türkiye's entrepreneurial spirit.
The understanding of solidarity, unity and togetherness that exists in the spirit of MÜSİAD constitutes the foundation of our organizational policy. In this way we build a stronger structure in both economic and social terms.
Today MÜSİAD, with its organization across the country, is Türkiye's most widespread and most effective businesspeople's organization. Its essential strength and success also stem from this.
Today MÜSİAD, organized in 83 countries and at 99 points, experiences the excitement of carrying this number still further with each passing year. This organizational drive of ours plays a critical role in making the strength of both our country and our business world felt more strongly in the international arena.
In line with our future targets, we are continuing our efforts without interruption in order to be present in more countries and to create a wider sphere of influence. While this growth momentum brings us a stronger international network, it also consolidates Türkiye's role in global trade.
While we grow stronger locally through our organizations in all four corners of the world, we also continue to expand our global network. This is a great opportunity not only for economic gains, but at the same time for cultural interaction, social responsibility and coming together around shared values.
At each of our organizational points, we aim to establish a structure that represents the strength and vision of Turkish businesspeople and that acts with a spirit of cooperation and solidarity. In this process, by developing projects suited to local dynamics, we enable our businesspeople to take a more effective role in the global economy.
With a strong organization, we produce projects in order to contribute not only to economic but also to social development, and we build the future together with our stakeholders. With this understanding, our MÜSİAD representative offices in all four corners of the world both guide our entrepreneurs and open new doors of opportunity for them by bringing them together with local economies.
Our organizations abroad operate as representatives of our country not only in our business world but at the same time in cultural and social terms. Their contributions are not only commercial success but at the same time a part of our country's cultural diplomacy.
Most esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
We always give two important pieces of advice to our branches and representative offices and to our friends abroad. Two important elements that set out MÜSİAD's way of doing business, its character, its method and, most important of all, its inclusive aspect...
The first of these is as follows: The ways of doing business of every country, of every geography, are different from one another. Therefore it is necessary to integrate in some way into the country you are in, to adapt to the culture and to the people of the country in which you do business. Of course, what I say does not mean becoming assimilated; on the contrary, it means preserving your own culture and at the same time achieving harmony. That is, do not forget the ancient Anatolian geography you came from, the lands in which you were born, your forefathers... On the other hand, produce value and provide benefit for the lands where you find your sustenance and earn your living. We attach great importance to the balance between these two cultural values.
The second is this: never forget that MÜSİAD is an institution that stands above politics... With the values we represent and with our system of faith and morality, we stand in a very important place. With the belief in the Market of Medina, which we never let fall from our tongues, we show the whole world that trade is to be conducted with morality and with virtue.
As MÜSİAD, our distinguishing mark is, above all, our honesty, our transparency and our virtuous conduct. Wherever we go, we display an extremely open and transparent attitude. In this sense we have no hidden agenda whatsoever.
Serving our members, our country and the entire ummah, the whole of humanity, is our essential aim. To increase goodness, to multiply the number of good people, to help those in need, to produce value for the countries we are in, to provide added value to those countries, to be of benefit to those countries; this is our agenda…
Just as our name says, we are an independent organization. Because we work with the principle that “the best of people is the one who is most beneficial to people”.
Dear friends, esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
In the 35-year period we have left behind, we have accomplished very important work. But we attached very great importance especially to organization, which for us is a spiritual investment.
Because we have never forgotten and never disregarded ancient Anatolia, where we were born, where we grew up and where we struck root into the world. While one of our feet travelled every inch of Anatolia, the other was always in other geographies of the world.
In every work we have done and in every project we have carried out, our priority has always been our homeland and our nation: We have constantly produced new ideas about what we can do for our country and for the welfare of our nation, and we continue to produce them.
Thanks be to God, over the years our MÜSİAD has entered into a very strong and effective organizational structure through the branches and representative offices it has opened both in our country and abroad. It has always been a pioneer and a guide in the matter of organization.
Esteemed friends,
Today, the branches and representative offices it has opened especially in the geography of Europe demonstrate our MÜSİAD's strength and influence in the international arena.
This strong network that we have built abroad and particularly in Europe enables us to carry out our activities effectively across a wide spectrum, from trade to diplomacy, from social responsibility to culture.
As MÜSİAD, today we understand better how important our presence in Europe is. With a strong economy and a stable foreign policy, Türkiye continues to advance on the path to becoming the most decisive power of the geography in which it is located.
On this occasion I see benefit in emphasizing once again that we have always conducted our relations with the European Union on a constructive footing. As our esteemed President has repeatedly pointed out, the European Union's need for Türkiye is increasing further with each passing day.
Therefore Türkiye maintains its role as a critical actor that provides Europe's security and supports its economic and political stability.
Moreover, the geopolitical developments taking place in the region in which we live lay bare how critical a position Türkiye holds in the international arena. In establishing peace and stability, Türkiye acts by considering not only its own interests but also the peace of Europe and of the world.
At this point, as MÜSİAD, we must state the following: We will continue to work for Türkiye to be a leader in its region with a strong and independent economy. We will work with all our might to strengthen further our relations with the European Union, our diplomatic efforts and our commercial bridges.
By growing our presence in Europe still further with each passing day, God willing we will fulfil our responsibility of being Türkiye's voice in the periods ahead as well.
Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
As I complete my remarks here, I thank you very much for your attendance and greet you all with respect and esteem.
May God protect you.
Mahmut Asmalı
President of MÜSİAD