Parliament Deputy Speaker Adan addressed the importance of Türkiye's economic independence at a gala dinner held as part of the 21st MÜSİAD Expo International Fair.
Adan said Türkiye should not aim to be a subcontractor for contract manufacturing or cheap labor for other brands. He said the country should become an economic power that develops its own designs, high technology and brands and sets prices in global markets.
Confidence is essential for production and investment
Adan said production, investment and capital needed an environment of confidence, adding that the economy did not tolerate uncertainty, while production needed peace and investment needed stability.
Adan said billions of dollars in national wealth that could have been used for education, production, prosperity and human resources had been wasted because of terrorism. He said the process to end terrorism was of great economic and social importance.
Adan said the three points put forward by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli as part of the Türkiye free of terrorism process were the dissolution of the terrorist organization and its laying down of arms, the establishment of a commission in Parliament, and turning the issue into state policy.
Business representatives joined the parliamentary commission
Adan said MÜSİAD, TÜSİAD, DİSK and HAK-İŞ had also joined the commission established in Parliament. He said addressing issues concerning Türkiye under the roof of Parliament demonstrated the institution's prestige.
Adan said the terrorist organization had decided to lay down its arms and dissolve itself, while the president had turned the issue into state policy. He said Türkiye had made significant progress in this process and that production and investment areas needed to be developed in the period free of terrorism.
Call for new investment from the business community
Pointing to MÜSİAD's position on the Türkiye free of terrorism process, Adan said businesspeople should strengthen the environment of confidence through the right investments.
“A Türkiye free of terrorism is one where factory chimneys, not gun barrels, are smoking,” Adan said, adding that the sound of production machinery should be heard instead of weapons. He said opening new production sites in areas where terrorism had been defeated was the responsibility of the business community.
Addressing businesspeople from abroad who attended the fair, Adan said the partnerships established and successes achieved in these lands offered hope for a just future for the oppressed.
Emphasis on software and advanced industry
Adan said Türkiye now produced and exported some defense industry products that it had previously been unable to obtain despite paying for them. He said a similar breakthrough was needed in software, artificial intelligence, energy, agriculture and advanced industry.
Adan said economic independence was part of Türkiye's struggle for independence. He also said MÜSİAD had assumed responsibility in the Türkiye free of terrorism process.
Interior Minister Çiftçi's visit to Parliament
At the end of the program, Adan answered a question about Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi's visit to Parliament and said MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli had demonstrated his commitment to putting “Türkiye first.”
Adan said those who did not say “Türkiye first” in the new era would lose out in Turkish politics. He said he periodically briefed Parliament on the work carried out by Interior Minister Çiftçi, the justice minister and the energy minister.
Adan said measures to protect citizens from gangs were discussed during his meeting with Çiftçi. He said he had been told that people from Diyarbakır, Şırnak and the Eastern Anatolia region who had gone to Istanbul to do business had begun making investments.
Adan said they supported the work carried out by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior against corruption and gangs.
Gifts were presented to the sponsors of the 21st MÜSİAD Expo during the program. Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Şekip Avdagiç, Düzce Mayor Faruk Özlü, MHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Volkan Yılmaz, former MÜSİAD chairmen, members and guests also attended the gala dinner.
