International Izmir Business Days Started

Organized as part of the 89th Izmir International Fair, the 6th International Izmir Business Days started with the “Logistics and Trade in the Mediterranean: Evaluation of Post-Pandemic Conditions” forum. Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, İzmir Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç SoyerThe effects of the pandemic on the global economy were discussed at the forum attended by the government officials of Morocco, Italy and Spain.

The 89th International İzmir Business Days meetings started within the scope of the 6th İzmir International Fair, organized by İZFAŞ with the Mediterranean theme and hosted by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality under the auspices of the TR Ministry of Commerce. The opening of the two-day meetings, which shape the relations of the city and the country with the trade volume, started with the online forum on “Logistics and Trade in the Mediterranean: Evaluation of Post-Pandemic Conditions”. The opening forum was attended by TR Minister of Commerce Ruhsar Pekcan, Governor of İzmir Yavuz Selim Köşger, Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. Tunç Soyer, Moroccan Minister of Industry, Trade, Green and Digital Economy Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism María Reyes Maroto Illera and Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Manlio Di Stefano.

Pekcan: "We must take steps to facilitate trade"

Speaking about the commercial developments in the Mediterranean during the pandemic process, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said, “With our joint efforts, we will increase the strategic importance of the Mediterranean economically, and develop innovative cooperation steps in the Mediterranean so as to contribute to the welfare of all countries. there is much need. I hope that new ideas and projects will be put forward in order to strengthen the economic conditions in the Mediterranean basin. With the steps to be taken to facilitate trade, there is no reason why this should not happen. Contactless trade is an automation-based system that we started and developed independently of the pandemic. Digital customs infrastructure has made a significant contribution to the business world. We are pleased to share this experience with all of our trade partners. We believe in digitalization and the importance of developing cross-border infrastructures ”.

Köşger: "We are ready to support"

İzmir Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger stated that İzmir has all the features that require strong and continuous relations with countries in the Mediterranean basin in areas such as trade, industry and tourism, and that it has a high potential in these areas. Köşger said that with the commissioning of a mega project such as the Aegean Tourism Center-Çeşme Project prepared by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the region's trade, tourism and logistics infrastructure will improve. Köşger said that as the Governorship of İzmir, they will give all kinds of support to the positive steps to be taken by business people for the socio-economic development of the city.

Soyer: "Our goal is clear to move the city forward"

Expressing that they are working to create an atmosphere of unity and solidarity in the Mediterranean, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer“The features of İzmir ports are considered as the greatest opportunity to position the Belt and Road Project in Turkey, which is considered to be the biggest project of the 21st century and will connect Europe to the Far East. We continue to work to achieve this. As the manager of this special city, I believed that my primary responsibility was to take this historical identity of İzmir as a reference and to carry it forward by preserving these features. To achieve this, we have prepared a very comprehensive strategy. We aimed to further strengthen İzmir's feature of being a natural port, to develop multifaceted economic and cultural cooperations with Mediterranean cities, and to make İzmir one of the leading cities of the Mediterranean and the world. In line with these goals, we are trying to create a new ecosystem together with our chamber of commerce, chamber of industry, business people associations and all our other stakeholders in Izmir. This ecosystem includes reading the age we live in correctly, utilizing the opportunities well and updating ourselves according to the conditions.”

Common mind and cooperation are important

Noting that they are trying to make İzmir a leading city in the Mediterranean region, Soyer said: “We are holding the 89th IEF this year with the 'Mediterranean' theme. First of all, our aim is to contribute to revitalizing the economic problems of our country and Izmir, which have grown much more with the pandemic, with international cooperation and commercial relations that will occur at the Fair. Maybe we could not come together physically due to the pandemic, but we managed to reach our goals. We further strengthened our communication with the cities in the Mediterranean. We want to make İzmir one of the 100 best known brand cities in the world. We have many projects to achieve this goal. We continue our efforts to make İzmir the European Youth Capital. We are making efforts to host İzmir's Botanical EXPO in 2026 and World EXPO in 2030. İzmir on one end Ephesus, on the other Bergama; Kemeraltı in its historical center and Gediz Delta, where flamingos are located at the bottom of the city, has an enormous potential. We need to be able to explain all this more to the world. The Izmir International Fair, which is the memory center of the 'firsts' in our country and in Izmir and the political, economic and cultural relations with the world countries, is exactly the place where we will tell. The world is going through very difficult times globally. We can only overcome all of these problems together with cooperation and common sense. I fully believe that these meetings will also lead to this. I wish that the 89th Izmir International Fair will be instrumental in strengthening commercial relations, especially in Mediterranean cities, and establishing cooperation protocols and commercial partnerships, thus offering a solution from Izmir to our economic troubles that deeply shook every household during the pandemic period ”.

Unity message from Morocco

Moroccan Industry, Trade, Green and Digital Economy Minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy stated that the pandemic caused economic decline in the Mediterranean countries as well as in the whole world and said, “We have worked and competed with each other in the Mediterranean basin so far. We tried to steal market shares from each other. However, we have seen in the pandemic that if we stand separately, our vulnerabilities grow. We have seen that when we combine our energies, we can be much more resilient. Our industrialists, our businessmen, are less used to working in ways that complement each other. But this is an opportunity. We can reconsider these approaches. We can make one plus one bigger than two. It makes much more sense to complement each other than to turn back to back. The pandemic raised us awareness and was a trigger in this direction, ”he said.

Integration is essential

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Unity Platform for the Mediterranean Deputy Secretary General for Transport and Urban Development, Ambassador Ayşe Asya stated that there are 42 countries on the Mediterranean coast that are affiliated to the organization and explained the difficulties in international trade due to the pandemic. Asia noted that Mediterranean countries had to cooperate on local stability and integration.

We must share our information

Spain Industry, Trade and Tourism Minister María Reyes Maroto to Il, noting that the peak of the IEF fairs in Turkey, one of the important building blocks of three thousand years, the sea trade in the Mediterranean was stated that Izmir. With the Maroto, compared to the previous year, trade between Turkey and Spain due to the pandemic, noting that € 3 billion decrease, "I still believe that we will again improve the trade relations between our countries. Collaborations we will make in the fields of water, energy, waste utilization, railways, engineering and consultancy show that we can easily overcome this situation in the Mediterranean basin. We must value the cooperation environment and share our experiences. I believe in free trade and mutual cooperation with Turkey. Our companies will also contribute to the growth of Mediterranean countries ”.

Cooperation must continue

Italy Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Deputy Minister Manlio Di Stefano three continents intersection located Noting that the way to becoming the main point of the global economy, Turkey, highlighted the importance of Avoid complicated time in continuing the cooperation of the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Explaining how they were affected by the pandemic and what kind of measures they took to overcome the problems, Stefano said that they are always open to cooperation between Mediterranean coastal countries.

Izmir University of Economics, Faculty of Business, Head of Logistics Management Department Assoc. Dr. Muhittin Demir made a presentation on "Trade and Logistics in the Mediterranean". At the opening, Tamer Kıran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the IMEAK Chamber of Shipping and Şadan Kaptanoğlu, Chairman of the Board of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO); evaluated the trade in the Mediterranean during the pandemic process.

Two-day busy schedule

The 6th International Izmir Business Days will last for two days. On the first day after the opening, EIB Coordinator President Jak Eskinazi was the first speaker of the seminar on "The Future of Trade in the Mediterranean Basin". Business Days also hosted an important conference concerning the textile industry. The web conference on "Opportunities, Challenges and Expectations for the Textile Industry in the Post-Pandemic Period" was the preliminary preparation of the 6th MEDITEX (Mediterranean Textile Forum) and was held in partnership with the Izmir Chamber of Commerce. The "Trade Facilitation Instruments" seminar was held in partnership with the Aegean Region Customs Regional Directorate.

International Izmir Business Days draws attention with its busy schedule on the second day. The program, which will start with the "New World, New Consumer, New Company" session in partnership with EIB, will continue with the "Sea Transport Opportunities and Container Transport" seminar in partnership with the Chamber of Shipping (DTO). To be realized in partnership with the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry (EBSO), "Looking to the Future from Today's Turkish Industry: The Future Vision of the Industry", "E-Commerce and Covid-19 Epidemic / Covid-19 Unifying Power of E-Commerce" in partnership with Izmir Chamber of Commerce (ITO) will bring important speakers together.

6th International Izmir Business Days, where sector representatives from different countries will make interviews online; TC Ministry of Commerce, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, İZFAŞ, Izmir Chamber of Commerce (IZTO), Aegean Region Chamber of Industry (EBSO), Izmir Commodity Exchange (ITB), Istanbul and Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea Regions Chamber of Shipping Izmir Branch (İMEAK DTO ) and Aegean Exporters' Associations (EİB).

International Izmir Business Days https://www.izmirisgunleri.com/ and Izmir International Fair Youtube from channel (https://bit.ly/34SRcoL) followable.

Over 5 participants in 500 years

Last year, 41 delegations, including ministers and deputy ministers from 197 countries, attended. Since 2015, more than 60 speakers and more than 500 participants have been attended by Izmir Business Days Meetings.