The Europe General Administrative Board (AGİK) Gala Dinner Programme of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) was held under the hosting of the MÜSİAD Karlsruhe Branch.
The event, organized at the Kurhaus Baden-Baden, was attended by Türkiye's Consul General in Karlsruhe Banu Terzioğlu, Karlsruhe Commercial Attaché Oya Demirkan, Mayor of Karlsruhe Frank Mentrup, KT Bank General Manager Kudsi Arslan, Head of Foreign Relations of the Karlsruhe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Robert Huber, President of the Karlsruhe Chamber of Crafts and Trades Joachim Wohlfeil, former Director General of Security Celal Uzunkaya, representatives of the Turkish and German business worlds, MÜSİAD domestic and international representatives and presidents, and MÜSİAD members.
MÜSİAD stands by Turkish producers, entrepreneurs and investors across Germany and Europe
Speaking at the programme, MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı recalled that MÜSİAD opened its first international branch in the German city of Munich in 1993, and said that Germany has historically been one of Türkiye's most important trade partners.
President Asmalı included the following words in his statement:
"MÜSİAD advances with a vision that produces value for the lands in which it was born under all conditions and circumstances, that prioritizes education and that gives direction to the economy in its region. We observe these values in our regional and commercial diplomacy activities and develop strategies aimed at making Türkiye a unique centre of attraction in both the national and the international arena. With our more than 12,500 members operating in various sectors and our more than 60,000 companies, we carry out 20 percent of Türkiye's exports. In line with this vision, we stand by our Turkish entrepreneurs, producers and investors operating across Germany and Europe. As for our first branch in the global arena, we opened it in Munich in 1993. For this reason, operating in Germany is very precious for the MÜSİAD Family. Germany has historically been one of Türkiye's most important trade partners… With ties extending back to Turkish migration to Germany in the 1960s, relations between the countries have gone beyond a classical commercial relationship. As MÜSİAD, we have taken on important responsibilities in order to carry our relations with Germany, where approximately 3 million Turkish citizens live, further forward and to increase the commercial presence of our Turkish citizens there."
"Germany is among Türkiye's most important partners in exports"
Touching in his statement also on the importance of the commercial relations between the two countries, President Asmalı emphasized that MÜSİAD members are working diligently to strengthen the trade volume of Türkiye and Germany further.
The MÜSİAD President continued his speech as follows:
"Among approximately 16,000 associations in Germany in which migrants take an active role, there are 4,700 Turkish civil society organizations. These associations close a great gap and offer the new generations in Germany the opportunity to socialize. We hope that the civil society organizations in Germany will carry out more coordinated and effective work in fields concerning the whole of the Turkish community in Germany, such as mother-tongue education and the fight against discrimination. We attach importance to social harmony between communities, to conscious socialization and to integration that preserves one's own identity and values. Germany stands out as Türkiye's first-ranking partner in exports and second-ranking partner in imports. Our bilateral trade volume, which stood at around USD 38 billion in 2020, exceeded USD 41 billion in 2021. The most prominent items in our exports to Germany are motor land vehicles, motorcycles, boilers, machinery, knitted clothing, electrical machinery and appliances, and woven clothing… Our projection for the new period is to be able to raise the foreign trade volume to USD 50 billion. Our innovative breakthroughs in headings that will give direction to the future, such as renewable energy, combating climate change, green transformation, artificial intelligence and digitalization, will accelerate our attainment of this target."
