The MÜSİAD Presidents Meeting, organized with the participation of 81 branch presidents from across Türkiye, was held in Diyarbakır in line with the vision of a “Türkiye Free of Terrorism”. At the meeting, held under the leadership of MÜSİAD President Burhan Özdemir, the economic and social cost of terrorism was addressed, while strong messages were given for regional development and social unity.

At the meeting held with the participation of MÜSİAD President Burhan Özdemir, the new-term members of the MÜSİAD Board of Directors and the presidents of the 84 branches and representative offices across Türkiye, Türkiye's new development vision in the era of a Türkiye Free of Terrorism was put on the table. Speaking at the press statement made at the meeting, President Burhan Özdemir made a historic call to the business world and to all civil society organizations, emphasizing that the region must be raised up with a “mobilization of revival”.

Özdemir stated that this meaningful gathering held in Diyarbakır by MÜSİAD, which has stood by right and law, justice and development since the day it was founded and which represents Türkiye's production power with its more than 14,000 members, its 84 domestic branches and representative offices and its more than 100 contact points abroad, is the most important sign that Türkiye has entered a new era, and expressed that they believe holding the most important gathering at this historic threshold in Diyarbakır, the heartland of civilization, is a spiritual responsibility.


"A Türkiye Free of Terrorism is the Glad Tidings of the Revival of Our Brotherhood”

MÜSİAD President Burhan Özdemir, stating that Türkiye has been struggling with a sedition for nearly half a century, said that the terrorist organization's laying down its arms and dissolving itself is not merely the exhaustion of an organization but also the glad tidings of the revival of a brotherhood that has lasted for centuries. Emphasizing that this success is the joint work of the political will under the leadership of the Honourable President and of the fortitude of the nation, Özdemir drew attention to the "comradeship of the soul" between Turks and Kurds and expressed that the end of terrorism is also the collapse of the dark scenarios targeting this brotherhood.

The USD 2 Trillion Cost of Terrorism is Wealth Stolen from the Table of This Nation

Underlining the heavy economic bill of the struggle against terrorism for Türkiye, Burhan Özdemir stated that the resources spent in this process exceed USD 2 trillion directly and indirectly. Expressing that this figure is not a simple economic cost but the price of postponed dreams and usurped hopes, Özdemir made striking observations: “With this USD 2 trillion we could have carried our country among the top 10 economies of the world. Our Gross Domestic Product could have exceeded USD 3 trillion and our per capita national income could have risen above the level of USD 30,000. This figure means that the wealth that would gush forth from those fertile lands has been stolen not only from the table of the people of the region but from the table of an entire nation.”

Özdemir summarized the current economic picture of the region with the following figures:

  • The region produces only 5 lira of every 100 lira of national income that Türkiye produces.

  • Its share in industrial production has fallen below 3 percent and its share in exports below 1.4 percent. This situation shows that the production backbone of the region has weakened and that it has been isolated from global competition.

  • Despite being located in the heart of Mesopotamia, its share in agricultural production has remained far below its potential, at the level of 13 percent.

  • The young population, the region's greatest treasure, faces a spiral of migration and unemployment because of the narrowness of employment opportunities. While unemployment across the country is at the level of 9-10 percent, the climb of this rate to around 25 percent in the region means that the hope of one in every four young people is being postponed.

President Özdemir said that this picture is not a document of pessimism but, on the contrary, a road map pointing to the starting point of Türkiye's greatest growth initiative in the coming century. Özdemir said: “It is now not the time to wait but the time to rear up! The time has come to use that enormous resource not in defence against terrorism but in an offensive for development.”

A Call from MÜSİAD to the Business World: “Come, Let Us Be the Soldiers of This Vision”

Announcing that as MÜSİAD they have taken on responsibility at this historic turning point and have taken the first step, Burhan Özdemir addressed all civil society organizations, trade unions and chambers, above all the other umbrella organizations of the business world: “Come, let us not be mere spectators of the vision of a Türkiye Free of Terrorism. Come, let us be the architects of this vision, soldiers of revival. Come, let us shoulder this historic responsibility together.”
Özdemir listed the concrete steps MÜSİAD will take in this new period as follows:

  • Without losing time, a special working group for economic and social development will be established together with the branches in the region, and from today onwards work will be carried out in the field.

  • Close relations will be established with all Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Organized Industrial Zones and Agricultural Cooperatives in the provinces of the region, and the areas in which rapid results can be obtained in industry and agriculture will be determined.

  • Special support will be given to the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the region through the Independent Venture Capital Fund established within MÜSİAD.

  • The 16 sector boards relating to the region's locomotive sectors, above all agriculture, tourism and trade, will begin business development work.

  • Sponsorship programmes centred on vocational high schools will be designed in order to provide employment for young people, the region's greatest strength.

President Özdemir concluded his remarks by saying: “This process is not an end but an honourable new beginning.” Özdemir expressed that every investment to be made and every factory chimney to be opened in these regions will not only be a gateway to employment but at the same time a seal set upon Türkiye's unity and brotherhood, and that the leaven of this civilization is the greatest guarantee of our common future.