The MÜSİAD EXPO 2024 International Trade Fair, organized by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD), held its closing programme with the honoured attendance of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As business people from 94 countries came together at the fair, the event made a great impact with its target of a trade volume of USD 1 billion.

The Centre of Global Trade: MÜSİAD EXPO 2024

MÜSİAD EXPO 2024, held for the 20th time this year, played an important role in carrying Türkiye's trade vision onto the world stage. At the event, which was attended by more than 500 foreign purchasing delegations and business people from 94 countries, more than 300 companies from 24 sectors such as machinery, construction, food, energy, the defence industry and advanced technology took part. In addition, more than 650 B2B meetings were held.

In his closing speech at the fair, MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı emphasized that the event is a platform where the heart not only of Türkiye but of world trade beats. Asmalı said: “2025 will be a year in which the structural reforms Türkiye needs will be put into practice. With fundamental transformations in every field, from education to technology and from the economy to trade, we will carry our country further up in global competition.”

“Türkiye Is Opening the Doors of a Brand-New Era”

In his speech, in which he stated that Türkiye has gained great momentum in every field from the defence industry to diplomacy, Mahmut Asmalı drew attention to the contribution MÜSİAD EXPO makes to the country's global vision.

Asmalı said: “This year our fair was organized with the motto ‘Global Trade is Here’ and welcomed nearly 5,000 visitors from 94 countries. We believe that at the end of the event we will reach our target of a trade volume of USD 1 billion. This success is a mark of Türkiye's determination on its journey towards full economic independence.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his closing speech at the fair, both shared important data on the Turkish economy and set out the country's vision for the future. Recalling Türkiye's target of a national income of USD 1 trillion 331 billion and a per capita income of USD 15,551, Erdoğan noted the following:

“Even in the shadow of global crises such as the pandemic and wars, our country has managed to sustain its economic growth. In the first half of 2024 our growth stood at 3.8 percent; the third-quarter data also recorded growth of 2.1 percent. Our exports have made a great contribution to this success. Over the last 12 months our goods exports exceeded USD 262.3 billion and our services exports USD 112 billion.”

Touching also on migration policies, Erdoğan stated that Türkiye is determined in its fight against irregular migration:

“We regard the security of our borders as a matter of honour and protect it accordingly. However, we view the question of migration not solely from a security perspective but with a multidimensional approach that places humanitarian values at its centre. We encourage the voluntary, safe and dignified return of our brothers and sisters under temporary protection. Türkiye will never tolerate hate speech or racist vandalism concerning refugees.”

The President also stated that USD 72 billion of investment has been made for the reconstruction of the earthquake region and that during this process the wheels of the economy have continued to turn. Erdoğan added: “While healing the wounds of the earthquake, it is a source of pride to see that our country has not deviated from its production, employment and growth targets. The Turkish economy is making its way from stormy waters into calm waters.”

The programme came to an end after the family photograph.