GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPEECH

SAKARYA / 6 January 2023

Our Esteemed Branch President and Distinguished Members of the Board of Directors

My dear brothers and sisters of Sakarya,

I greet you all with respect and affection,

I pray to Almighty God that our General Assembly will be a means of auspicious outcomes.

Our esteemed members, distinguished guests,

We are aware that we stand on the threshold of a new period. In the hundredth year of our Republic and at the very beginning of the Century of Türkiye, every step we take, every sentence we utter and every move we make carries great importance for our present and our future. MÜSİAD, which is Türkiye’s largest cooperation and capital platform, continues on its way with this awareness and enthusiasm, bringing together innovation with tradition, blessing with effort, enthusiasm with courage, the mind with the heart, and theory with practice in a determined manner. In our 33rd year, we continue this blessed journey of ours by constantly renewing ourselves with the strength and inspiration we draw from our roots and by handing over the watch at certain periods.

Esteemed guests,

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

Let us not forget: MÜSİAD is not merely a fellowship of business people; it is at the same time an effective actor of commercial diplomacy carrying out activities in the international arena. Furthermore, it is an institution of humanitarian diplomacy that takes to heart the troubles of oppressed and aggrieved people and of brotherly and kindred communities, and that rushes to the aid of those in distress.

We possess a strong understanding of civilization that evaluates matter together with meaning and this world together with the hereafter. For this reason, MÜSİAD draws its true strength from the wisdom of Anatolia, from the insight of our nation and from its idealist entrepreneurship.

Esteemed guests, my dear brothers and sisters,

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

It is gratifying that, thanks to the policies put into effect within the scope of the Türkiye Economy Model, some important developments have occurred in the real economy. All these developments tell us that the Türkiye Economy Model has slowly begun to bear its fruits. Undoubtedly it is not possible to reach long-term goals all at once. Provided that we continue to implement selective and target-oriented policies and show patience, we have full confidence that Türkiye, together with its strong real sector, will continue its moves towards prosperity and development without falling into the middle-income trap.

Inflation comes at the head of the greatest obstacles before the Turkish economy. With the measures taken in recent months to bring inflation down beginning to show their effect, we expect inflation to fall to more reasonable levels in 2023.

Esteemed guests, my dear brothers and sisters,

As MÜSİAD, we preserve our dynamism by constantly renewing ourselves 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 we constantly deepen our field of influence by expanding it. With our sector boards and our rich organizational structure, we penetrate as far as the capillaries of our economy. It is very important for our Branch General Assemblies to be productive in order to make this strong structure of ours sustainable. In this regard, I hope that the general assembly of our Sakarya branch will pass successfully and that its results will be auspicious. I congratulate our esteemed members of the board of directors who served in the previous term. I wish success to our friends who will take up new duties. These duties are a trust from our nation. Upholding the trust meticulously and as it deserves, and handing over our duties to our new friends when the time comes, increases the blessing and grace upon us. Let us never forget that our greatest strength is the solidarity and unity among us, and that we will be successful as long as we act as one and together and with the bond of brotherhood.

My dear brothers and sisters, our esteemed members,

As the MÜSİAD family we have very great responsibilities. We will act in this new period with this awareness. We know that blessing is in proportion to burden, and burden in proportion to blessing. However many blessings, bounties and lawful earnings we obtain, we face just as many burdens, difficulties and struggles. Our Lord tests us sometimes with scarcity and sometimes with abundance. Especially in these critical periods, we must work and produce without stopping and with determination, knowing no limits in sacrifice, for the development of our country and the prosperity of our nation. As the heirs of a magnificent civilization and the grandchildren of a glorious ancestry, we must always flow with dignity like the Danube, with abundance like the Nile, with serenity like the Kızılırmak, with wisdom like the Tigris and the Euphrates, and with exuberance like the Sakarya…

With these feelings and thoughts, as I conclude my remarks I once again hope that our general assembly will be a means of auspicious outcomes, and I wish success to our brothers and sisters who will take up duties in the new period.

Stay well. May God protect you.

President of MÜSİAD

Mahmut Asmalı