Uludag Economy Summit Started

Uludağ Economy Summit, one of the most important business and economic events of Turkey and the Eurasia Region, organized by Capital, Economist and StartUp magazines since 2012, takes place as a hybrid (physical and online).

Uludağ Economy Summit, whose main theme is “Sustainability and the Future”, started with the opening speeches of Sedef Seçkin Büyük, Publication Director of Capital, Economist, Start Up Magazines, and Engin Aksoy, CEO of Vodafone Turkey.

Sedef Seçkin Büyük, Editorial Director of Capital, Economist, Start Up Magazines, in her speech, said that the scope of the summit includes the "sustainability" practices and goals of the leading companies of the public and business world, more women's participation in the workforce, which are indispensable for accelerating economic development, and the development of gender equality. He stated that it was formed in a way to cover development areas and critical problems waiting to be solved. “We believe that our summit will shed light on 2022 and beyond as a strong idea platform where predictions and messages regarding the new order, recovery and ascension process in the post-pandemic world will be shared.” Büyük said that he hoped that the summit, where the economic management and prominent leaders of the business world will share their future visions, will provide clues and inspire all senior managers and viewers who make medium and long-term plans and devise a strategy.

We realized the importance of sustainability early on

Vodafone Turkey CEO Engin Aksoy said: “We have been feeling the effects of climate change both in our country and in the world in recent years. On the one hand, we see an increase in natural disasters caused by climate change, and on the other hand, we see that nature is being destroyed by human hands. It is of great importance that we all say stop to this trend and act quickly for the future of our planet. In this period, companies especially need to rethink their responsibilities towards society and our planet. As Vodafone, we are among the first companies to understand the importance of sustainability early and take action in this direction without delay. We work with the aim of finding solutions to global and local problems by using the power of digitalization. We continue to reduce our carbon footprint thanks to increased energy efficiency, renewable energy supply, reduction of our grid waste and new environmental criteria for supplier selection. We became the first and only operator in Turkey to purchase 100% of the electricity consumed in the grid and offices from renewable sources. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions originating from our own operations in terms of the sector we serve, we also contribute to reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint by managing our customers' business processes more efficiently with the IoT solutions we have developed. We expand our sphere of influence in society by implementing smart solutions in different fields such as finance, urbanization, art, sports, health, agriculture and energy. We need strong and urgent social will and consensus on sustainability. We call on all companies to take action right now for a better future and jointly move both our country and our world to a better tomorrow.”

Trade Minister Mehmet Muş: “We are among the countries that increased exports the most”

Minister of Commerce Mehmet Muş, who attended the summit via video after the opening speeches, talked about the breakthroughs Turkey has made in the economic, commercial and legal fields in the last 20 years and said that it is necessary to work hard to realize Turkey's potential in the change in the world economy. Stating that after the pandemic, whose global economic effects have been felt since 2019, the new opportunities waiting for the economy and business world should be analyzed well, Muş said that a strong recovery was seen in the first two quarters of 2021 thanks to the expansionary fiscal policies in the world, and that this recovery will continue, albeit at a slower pace, in 2022. he said it could be said. Stating that there has been a deterioration in the supply and demand balance due to the rapid recovery in global demand and the increase in basic commodity prices and logistics costs, Muş stated that the global economy is going through a difficult process.

Muş stated that the Turkish economy also showed a recovery in the first two quarters of 2021 and that Turkey's exports exceeded the estimates, and stated that they anticipate exporting more than $2021 billion by the end of 211. Stating that they want to maximize the contribution of net exports to growth, Muş said, "Our country has become the country that increased its exports the most, after South Africa and India, among the G20 countries."

A prosperous Turkey comes with sustainability

Drawing attention to climate change, Muş said, “The climate crisis cannot be postponed, neglected or ignored. We cannot punish ourselves and our future by spectating the end of sustainability.” he said. Stating that every success in climate capital will also affect the trade of countries, Muş said, "We should better focus on sustainability in order to make the records we broke in our country's exports of goods and services permanent and to create a prosperous Turkey." Stating that the lifestyle and consumption habits of the world's richest countries also affect climate change, Muş reminded that the Paris Climate Agreement was approved in Turkey and that he developed a green transformation action plan, and expressed his belief that the burden of the climate crisis should be shared among all countries.