Workshop on Improving Investment Climate Started TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu: "We know what we can do when we break our chains" TEPAV Director Sak: "We have a valuable experience in improving the investment climate"

21/09/2010 - Viewed 2635 times İSTANBUL - The workshop organized by TEPAV in collaboration with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank with the theme "Improving Investment Climate for Economic Growth" started in Istanbul. Making an opening speech in the workshop TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that what they need is not generous incentives and funds from the state but the improvement investment climate to converge to the European Union countries which they compete with. Underlining that the entrepreneurs from Turkey invest, generate employment and compete against rival when the obstacles be removed, Hisarcıklıoğlu said they are the aware of what they can do when they break their chains.

"Turkey called for the improvement of investment climate"

Maintaining that the reform process must be kept alive, Hisarciklıoğlu said: "This is just like riding a bicycle. If you do not want to fall down, you must keep cycling."  In this context Hisarcıklıoğlu stated improving the investment climate is one of the most important issues for a country to be developed, rich and democratic. Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that Turkey has a long way to go for these objectives also stressing the impressive progress made in recent years. Hisarcıklıoğlu also reminded that in the past, Turkey was reluctant to foreign investors in the past, as is the case in many Islamic countries even today. He stated that the organizations like World Bank and IMF were holding the meetings on improving investment climate in Turkey 5-6 years ago while today Turkey invites Islamic country to improve their investment climate with World Bank and Islamic Development Bank. Underlining that the workshop will contribute to the enhancement of institutional capacity in countries which are a member to the IDB, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the workshop also includes a training program for the public administrators of the said countries which intends to address the investment climate necessary to increase private sector investments as well as the ways to remove the obstacles to this end.

"Trainings will be guiding"

In his speech, TEPAV Director Guven Sak emphasized that efforts in Turkey to enhance the investment climate though does not go a long way back, has recently gained impetus creating valuable knowledge. Sak stated that a platform where this knowledge will be shared can also be guiding in the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (COMCEC) meetings.

30 experts from Islamic countries to attend

During the workshop with the theme "Improving Investment Climate for Economic Growth" a training program jointly organized by TEPAV and the World Bank will take place. Participants of the program will be 30 experts from investment and export assistance agencies, ministries of economy as well as chambers of industry and commerce and investment facilitation agencies from IDB member countries. The program will cover subjects including the incentives and labor market policies to be implemented in order to improve the investment climate, factors that affect investors' investment decisions and implications of informality and corruption for investment climate. The program will also give details of the reform process in Turkey. In this context, solutions Turkey developed for incorporation, employment policies, sector permits, land provision and development, taxation and incentives, customs and technical standards, intellectual property rights, legislation for foreign direct investment and the political challenges encountered before and the experiences about the reformation process will be shared with the participants.