The MÜSİAD "Power of Türkiye Awards" were presented to their recipients with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Mahmut Asmalı, President of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD), stated that Türkiye has come a very long way in every sector over the last 20 years, from the automotive industry to the defence industry and from construction to agriculture, and said: "We have proudly witnessed hard-to-imagine achievements being realized one by one, and God willing we will continue to witness them. With his determined stance, his fair perspective, the importance he attaches to transparency and his vision that analyses the future well, our esteemed President encourages Türkiye to stand out by far in almost every sector."
In his speech at the "Power of Türkiye Awards" ceremony held at the Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM) within the scope of MÜSİAD's 32nd anniversary, Asmalı expressed their hope of inspiring business people, industrialists and entrepreneurs operating in different sectors through the Power of Türkiye Awards.
Stating that they contribute to economic growth within the framework of the Akhi tradition, Asmalı reported that this year, as MÜSİAD, they combined the award ceremonies they have been organizing in different categories for 17 years and transformed them into a more comprehensive and powerful programme under the name "Power of Türkiye Awards Ceremony".
Stating that, apart from the 9 awards to be presented today, a one-time "Power of Türkiye Special Award" would be presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Asmalı continued as follows:
"Today, in your presence, we will present the Power of Türkiye Special Award to our Esteemed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who, taking the power of the Truth and of the people behind him, struggled against the centres of tutelage and the remnants of coups by paying a price and ensured that sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation; who, with the principle of 'One nation, one flag, one homeland, one state' and with determination, brought terrorist organizations to their knees and secured our national unity and our safety; who, without making the slightest concession from the will of the nation, repelled the treacherous coup attempt of July 15 and taught the coup plotters and their domestic and foreign collaborators an unforgettable lesson; who, with the humanitarian foreign policy implemented in our geography of the heart, from Palestine to Arakan and from Syria to Yemen, made Türkiye the conscience of humanity and became a confidant to the oppressed and a companion to the destitute; who, without making any distinction, conducts peace diplomacy on every ground and in every geography, and who most recently brought the delegations together at the same table in İstanbul for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war and was applauded standing by the parties; who, by saying at every opportunity 'The World is Bigger than Five' and 'A More Just World is Possible', questions the international system that cannot produce justice or establish peace and gives voice to the conscience of humanity; and who is the architect of Türkiye's development and of its liberation from foreign dependency through the enormous moves made in almost every field, from education to health, from transport to technology, from the economy to the defence industry."
"Türkiye is step by step approaching its goal of being among the 10 largest economies"
Drawing attention to the fact that Türkiye has come a very long way in every sector over the last 20 years, from the automotive industry to the defence industry and from construction to agriculture, Mahmut Asmalı used the following words: "We have proudly witnessed hard-to-imagine achievements being realized one by one, and God willing we will continue to witness them. With his determined stance, his fair perspective, the importance he attaches to transparency and his vision that analyses the future well, our esteemed President encourages Türkiye to stand out by far in almost every sector. Our industrialists, who feel this power from head to toe and move forward undaunted in the face of difficulties, develop products and services that are preferred all over the world".
Expressing that Türkiye is step by step approaching its goal of being among the 10 largest economies in the world, Asmalı made the following assessment: "Our country stood out during the Covid-19 pandemic by implementing the right action plans at the right time. With the strong performance we demonstrated in areas such as public order, employment, production and exports in addition to health services, our country decoupled from the global crisis climate."
"Our producers, industrialists and entrepreneurs entered 2022 with a much more positive perception"
Recalling that in the last months of 2021 the Turkish economy was subjected to a shock caused by the rise in the exchange rate, Asmalı noted the following:
"Following the 'Turkish Lira Promotion Package' announced by our esteemed President on 20 December, our producers, industrialists and entrepreneurs entered 2022 with a much more positive perception. With the measures taken, stability was restored in the markets. In this period our government put into practice a new economic programme that will grow Türkiye through investment, employment, production, exports and a current account surplus. With the advanced technology applications in which our domestic and national production power has soared, we have reached a point where we challenge the world. Our strong supply chains and our quality production vision have gained brand-new markets for our country in foreign trade. Thanks to this, exports of USD 225.4 billion were achieved last year, reaching the highest annual export figure of all time, and this year too, praise be to God, the export figures announced every month are breaking records. Türkiye, with the cooperation of primarily our government, our ministries, our civil society organizations and private and public sector institutions, became one of the G20 countries that managed the pandemic process most successfully. As 2023, the 100th anniversary of our Republic, approaches, we are witnessing the Turkish economy rapidly transforming."
"This year we will bring into service the permanent 640-household MÜSİAD Village project in Idlib"
MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı stated that, as MÜSİAD, they declared 2022 the year of investment in order to provide added value to the Turkish economy, strengthen the production projection and accelerate the export process.
Stating that, in line with the 2023 targets, they launched an investment mobilization together with their members at more than 40 locations, including metropolitan cities, through the "Anatolian Production and Investment Movement", Asmalı reported that when these investments, with a total investment value of TRY 25 billion, are completed, new employment areas will be created for 25,000 people, and that with these investments they aim to increase to 30 the number of provinces exceeding USD 1 billion in exports.
Sharing the information that they established the MÜSİAD Trade Office, which will further develop trade among members and prepare the ground for new partnerships, Asmalı conveyed that in this way they aim to further strengthen the climate of solidarity and brotherhood. Asmalı expressed his belief that the collaborations to be formed thanks to this office will bear fruitful results and that great global brands will emerge from among the members.
Emphasizing that Türkiye is bigger than Türkiye and will always continue to be a shelter for the oppressed, Asmalı said: "While we were previously the country that provided the most aid relative to its national income, we are now the country that provides the most aid in the world in all areas. No one leaves their homeland without reason. Opening our borders and our hearts to the migrants, the aggrieved and the oppressed who face such a necessity is our debt to humanity."
Stating that they will give weight to social cohesion projects and humanitarian diplomacy activities, especially with the contribution of young and women business people, Asmalı noted the following:
"In this way we will have contributed to the establishment of social peace and trust. In this context, we have started our permanent MÜSİAD Village project consisting of 640 briquette houses in Idlib and are rapidly continuing its construction. God willing, we will bring it into service this year. In the new period we will support our young and women entrepreneurs even more in every field. In order to raise the generations that will lead this world in the future, we have sown seeds with Young MÜSİAD and, praise be to God, our number has exceeded 4,000. With an environmentally friendly understanding of economics, we will sensitively protect nature, which has been entrusted to us. With our social responsibility projects we will contribute to humanitarian diplomacy, and with our global moves to commercial diplomacy."
The ceremony, which took place at the Taksim Atatürk Cultural Centre with the participation of, in addition to President Erdoğan, Minister of Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, President of Defence Industries Prof. Dr. İsmail Demir, AK Party Deputy Chairman Binali Yıldırım, Governor of İstanbul Ali Yerlikaya, business people, artists and academics, began with a recitation of the Holy Quran.
Afterwards, the "32nd Year Composition" that the artist Yücel Arzen composed in memory of MÜSİAD's 32nd year, together with a stage performance, was presented. The video prepared by MÜSİAD telling the 32-year success story since its foundation was watched with interest. The "Power of Türkiye Awards Ceremony", which is expected to make an important contribution to Türkiye's development, also witnessed the celebrations of MÜSİAD's 32nd anniversary.
The most important and most special award to President Erdoğan
Within the scope of the ceremony, following the opening speech of MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı, the announcement of the Power of Türkiye Awards began. At the ceremony, the most important and most special award was given to President Erdoğan. The first and only one-time “Power of Türkiye Special Award” to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was presented by MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı.
The Power of Türkiye Award was presented in 9 categories
At the ceremony, the following names were deemed worthy of awards: Prof. Dr. Aykut Özdarendeli, who developed Turkovac, the "Power of Academia Award", Dünya Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Hakan Güldağ the "Power of the Press Award", Altınay Robot Teknolojileri AŞ Chairman of the Board Hakan Altınay the "Power of Transformation Award", Getir Co-Founder Tuncay Tütek the "Power of Enterprise Award", Altaca Çevre Teknolojileri ve Enerji Üretim AŞ Chairman of the Board Hasan Alper Önoğlu the "Power of Climate Award", Kale Group President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zeynep Bodur Okyay the "Power of Women Award", LC Waikiki Chairman of the Board Vahap Küçük the "Power of the Brand Award", Dilruba Evleri Solidarity Association Founder Hatice Dilruba the "Power of Social Responsibility Award" and Tosyalı Holding Founder and Chairman of the Board Fuat Tosyalı the "Power of Production Award".
In addition, a plaque of thanks was presented on stage by President Erdoğan and Mahmut Asmalı to Trendyol Group President Çağlayan Çetin, who supported the award ceremony in the Main Sponsor category, and a souvenir photograph was taken.
