27th IBF Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Business Forum and IBF Turkish Export Products Fair – Opening Speech (3-11 March 2024)

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Praise be to Almighty God, who has brought us together here, and endless blessings and peace be upon His Messenger.

Honourable ….,

Esteemed representatives of the business world,

Distinguished members of our MÜSİAD,

Esteemed members of the press,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

I greet you all with respect and affection.

Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of God.

Welcome to the opening of our 27th IBF Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Business Forum and IBF Turkish Export Products Fair; you have honoured us with your presence…

At the end of the noble month of Sha‘ban and only days before the noble Ramadan, I pray to my Lord that our meeting held in this beautiful country may be a means of goodness.

The IBF International Business Forum is foremost among the organizations to which we as MÜSİAD attach the greatest importance and on which we dwell the most.

Setting out from the idea of establishing “a global business network” among Muslim businessmen, this platform today brings together 42 business associations from a total of 25 countries. At this point, our founding president Mr. Erol Yarar has made very important contributions. Once again we extend our thanks to him.

This year our IBF Summit is being held between 3 and 11 March 2024 in Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca and Medina, the highly important commercial cities of Saudi Arabia. We are especially glad, and we give thanks to God, that the Two Holy Sanctuaries are included within the scope of this summit. Within the scope of the 27th IBF, an Economic Forum Summit, B2B meetings, a fair and meetings with chambers of commerce will also be held.

God willing, we shall sign fine cooperation agreements and obtain very fruitful results for both countries.

Distinguished participants, esteemed guests,

As you know, earlier, on 9 October 2023, we took a very important step towards strengthening the cooperation of the two countries and signed a protocol with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. Thanks to this protocol, which we signed together with a delegation of 100 businesspeople from Saudi Arabia, we plan, God willing, to take very important steps in trade, in sectoral mobility and in international cooperation.

Alongside this cooperation, which we hope will contribute very substantially to the development of trade between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, we also hope to host such distinguished delegations frequently in the periods ahead.

At the point we have reached today, in our commercial relations with the Gulf countries, and particularly in the economic ties we have established with friendly and brotherly states such as Saudi Arabia, we have always displayed an outlook befitting a Muslim. God willing, our course will be in this direction from now on as well.

At this point, we hope that our Turkish Export Products Fair will also attract interest alongside the IBF… We extend our warm thanks to our Ministry of Trade, to the Ministry of Trade of Saudi Arabia and to the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce for supporting this event.

Distinguished participants,

As a result of these important initiatives we have undertaken, it is possible to say that commercial relations between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have recorded a marked increase, particularly over the past two years. When we glance at the import and export figures we can observe this development more clearly.

Türkiye’s exports to Saudi Arabia stood at the level of USD 1.1 billion in 2022, while in 2023 this amount rose to the level of USD 2.6 billion. Similarly, while Türkiye’s imports from Saudi Arabia stood at the level of USD 4.2 billion in 2022, in 2023 this decreased somewhat and was realized at the level of USD 3 billion. Thus the bilateral trade volume reached USD 5.7 billion, the highest level of the last 8 years.

Relations between the two countries have not been limited to trade alone; particularly as a result of the steps taken over the past 20 years, a significant level has also been reached in mutual investments. In the 2002-2022 period, the total of direct investments made in our country by companies with Saudi capital amounts to USD 2 billion. In the same period, the total of direct investments made in Saudi Arabia by companies with Turkish capital was USD 74 million.

Nevertheless, these figures remain below the mutual investment potential of the two countries. For both Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are highly attractive countries in the context of foreign direct investment.

Thanks to its high manufacturing potential and flexible production capacity as well as its proximity to large markets, our country is a candidate to become a major production base when compared with other countries. It has the potential to produce not only as a production and supply base oriented towards Western countries; thanks to its geopolitical position it can also produce for a very wide geography, foremost the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

Similarly, entrepreneurial activities and investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia are highly diverse and very attractive for potential investors. We too desire to make use of these opportunities and to raise mutual trade to the highest level.

Esteemed participants,

As Türkiye, we attach great importance to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. As Turkish businesspeople, and particularly as members of MÜSİAD, we believe that we can make great contributions to Saudi Arabia on the road leading to Vision 2030.

As Türkiye, we operate in many fields, from construction to machinery, from real estate investment to the chemicals sector. As you know, both the production capacity and the business continuity strength of our country are at very high levels. Our companies largely continue on their way with international projects abroad.

We believe that very great tasks fall to Turkish businesspeople within Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Accordingly, we should know that the cooperation which Saudi businesspeople will establish with Turkish businesspeople will above all bring great economic benefits to both countries.

We feel great enthusiasm for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. In this framework, we are taking important steps, both with our ministers and with all our institutions that conduct commercial diplomacy, regarding the great importance we attach to Saudi Arabia and to the commercial cooperation between the two countries.

Distinguished participants,

As I complete my words here, I wish that our 27th IBF Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Business Forum and IBF Turkish Export Products Fair may pass auspiciously and fruitfully for all participants.

I pray to my Lord that the meetings we shall hold and our cooperation may be a means for the unity and togetherness and the prosperity of the Islamic World, and for the deliverance of our oppressed and aggrieved brothers and sisters.

I greet you all with my most heartfelt feelings…

May God protect you.

And peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of God.

Mahmut Asmalı

President of MÜSİAD