The meeting was attended by Secretary General of the Turkic Council, H.E. Baghdad Amreyev, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and President of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organization of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASK), Mr. Mammad Musayev, Chairman of the Board of Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan, Ayan Yerenov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Marat Sharshekeyev, First Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistani Mr. Islam Djasimov and the President of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hungary, Dr. László Parragh.
During the video conference, the Heads of the business communities of the Member and Observer States exchanged information on the current state of activities, measures taken by the governments to reverse negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; trade facilitation measures, simplification of customs and transit/logistic procedures. They also provided recommendations on strengthening further cooperation within TCCI and between businesses communities, as well as SME development.
In his opening address, Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev congratulated the government and brotherly people of Azerbaijan for the victory and the long-awaited liberation of their territories from the occupation.
Noting that the special meeting of the TCCI entitled “A new era of social and economic development of Azerbaijan” organized on 2 November 2020 in Baku showed the solidarity of Turkic business communities with Azerbaijan, Secretary General again reiterated the readiness of the Turkic Council and TCCI to contribute to all initiatives of reconstruction and development of the liberated lands of Azerbaijan pursuant to the “Single Plan of Action” prepared by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He highly appreciated the efforts of each TCCI members for their valuable proposals and involvements in strengthening the role of the organization.
In addition, B. Amreyev pointed out that broad agenda of TCCI requires close collaboration to carry out the tasks of all Turkic business communities.
With this understanding, he underlined the necessity to ensure the full operationalization of TCCI Secretariat for elaboration sustainable business programs and projects beneficial for intra-trade and socio-economic development of the Member States, necessity to strengthen the activities of all Members of TCCI through exchange of experience and inter-institutional cooperation.
Secretary General called on the TCCI member organizations to support the initiatives of establishment “Turkic Trade Houses”, as a new mechanism to encourage mutual trade, investments, entrepreneurship among the Member countries as well as the establishment of “Women and Young Entrepreneur’s Committees” within TCCI to encourage women and young entrepreneurs by providing necessary support to increase their contribution to national economic growth. Emphasizing the role of industrialization in economic development, B.Amreyev also suggested TCCI focus on joint actions to establish industrial zones in the Member States.
Emphasizing the economic potential of the Turkic region, President of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and President of TCCI, Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoglu said that the Member States are still remaining behind as low trade volume due to the trade and customs barriers. He encouraged the countries to take measures on facilitation trade by establishing free trade regime among the Member States and called for more active use of the 'middle corridor' for transports to Central Asia and expanding the transport lines which operate between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan at regular and competitive prices.
President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organization of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASK), Mr. Mammad Musayev reiterated that implementation of the concrete projects by TCCI such as the establishment of Turkic Trade House model is essential in terms of developing commercial ties between Turkic business communities.
Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) László Parragh touched upon the challenges that the national economy has faced due to the pandemic and the efforts of the government as well as the Hungarian CCI in order to sustain the economic life. President Parragh also expressed that Hungary highly values its relations with the Turkic Council Member States and economic relations are growing in parallel to the improving political relations.
Vice Chairman of The National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Atameken”, Mr. Ayan Yeremov underscored that a high economic potential and close collaboration of the business communities is essential to ensure economic growth and expressed their support to provide B2B business forums, collaborate on creating digital ecosystems and ensuring digital transformation of trade in goods and services.
Touching upon recent activities and renovation of Turkistan, A.Yeremov also called for close cooperation of the business communities in implementing the large-scale investment projects in the city.
President of the Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Marat Sharshekeev also gave detailed information about the measures taken to reverse the negative effects of the pandemic on socio-economic life. While hoping for a quick recovery, M. Sharshekeev stressed that some of the problems that small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are facing is of crucial importance for Kyrgyzstan and therefore SMEs should be given priority.
Underlining the role of the Turkic Council First Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan Mr. Islam Djasimov noted that the Council has been acting as a permanent, reliable mechanism for developing industry and enhancing trade relations among the Member States despite the pandemic.
I.Djasimov also expressed the need for conducting online training on building a sound business environment within TCCI, actively utilizing the dispute resolution instruments and arbitration mechanisms of the chambers of commerce, further developing e-commerce, and facilitating trade in goods and services.
Then the participants made presentations on “Commodity Exchanges Turkish Model”, “Digital Transformation for SMEs and E-Commerce”, “Establishment of the Women and Young Entrepreneurs’ Committees” and “Turkic Trade Houses” within the TCCI.
