More than a thousand businesspeople and investors from around the world, 500 of them from Türkiye, came together in Azerbaijan for the reconstruction and revival of Karabakh, liberated from Armenian occupation.
The "25th International Business Forum (IBF)", held under the leadership of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD), took place in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
Within the scope of the forum, attention was drawn to Azerbaijan's trade and investment potential, and in particular the steps needed for the reconstruction and revival of Karabakh and the surrounding provinces liberated from occupation were discussed.
MÜSİAD Founding President and IBF Chairman Erol Yarar said in his statement that Karabakh, whose lands have not been cultivated for years and whose infrastructure is in disrepair, needs to be revived.
Noting that billions of dollars of infrastructure investment are needed in the lands Azerbaijan has liberated from occupation and that projects are required to bring the land back into production, Yarar said: "As MÜSİAD we have very serious experience on this matter. The reason we came here is to share our experience. We want to work on being able to take people back to their own lands. We will present our projects, and if the Azerbaijani state embraces these projects we will bring our businesspeople and carry them out."
Pointing out that agriculture is the field with the most important potential and the one that can be put into practice most quickly, Yarar said: "There is a mine problem, and this too can be resolved quickly. Once this problem is resolved, we want the land to be brought into agriculture immediately, job and income opportunities to be opened up for the people to be resettled there, and the villages and towns to be developed rapidly."
Trade volume targeted to rise to USD 15 billion
MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı stated that they had come to Azerbaijan to reinforce the emphasis of "one nation, two states" in the commercial and economic sphere as well, and that they would raise the contribution Turkish businesspeople will make to Azerbaijan to a much higher level.
Emphasizing that the trade volume between Türkiye and Azerbaijan stands at USD 3 billion and that this is a low figure which does not reflect the potential, Asmalı said: "We aim to raise (the trade volume) to USD 10 billion in the medium term and to USD 15 billion within 5 years. The environment and the ground for this are very favourable. Turkish businesspeople are very eager. We have work under way particularly on agricultural activities to be carried out in Karabakh and on smart agriculture."
"Türkiye will play a very big role in the construction of Karabakh"
AK Party Gaziantep Deputy Mehmet Erdoğan, who attended the forum, said that Türkiye would play a major role in the construction and underground infrastructure of Karabakh.
Erdoğan said: "People need to return to their lands. That means hundreds of thousands of homes. In this respect Türkiye will make a great contribution. Türkiye will play a very big role in the construction of Karabakh."
Cemil Yüksekdağ, Member of the MÜSİAD Board of Directors and Chairman of the Construction and Building Materials Sector Board, reported that they are carrying out work to produce "smart city" projects for the regions liberated from occupation and being rebuilt.
Yüksekdağ said: "As Turkish investors with vision and capability on the subject of "smart cities' we came here to transfer these capabilities and to make investments. We will continue with serious investments in the Azerbaijani market."
Fatih Altunbaş, Member of the MÜSİAD Board of Directors and Chairman of the Defence Industry Sector Board, emphasized that the unity of hearts with Azerbaijan is of greater importance than trade. Altunbaş made the following assessment: "We work in the defence industry, we produce ammunition. We have been working in Azerbaijan since 2010. We think that after the Karabakh victory we will achieve a larger trade volume here."
Esra Kaftancıoğlu, Member of the MÜSİAD Board of Directors, said that as businesswomen they play an active role not only locally but also globally, adding: "We will carry out work to grow our strength together with entrepreneurial women in Azerbaijan."
MÜSİAD İzmir Branch President Bilal Saygılı stated that he believes mutual business relations with Azerbaijan will increase, and said: "We have talks regarding Karabakh's energy sector. We have been working in Azerbaijan for 15 years. This work of ours will continue and grow stronger."
As part of the event, B2B meetings were also held, while participants had the opportunity to exhibit their products in the fair area that was set up.
