‘Innovation only way out of current account deficit’

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Büyükekşi (C), head of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, speaks at an Istanbul meeting to present an event that will gather business leaders from all over the world in the city. Company photo

Turkey could increase its total exports by focusing on innovation to reach the country’s export target of $500 billion by the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey and cut the current account deficit, according to the head of Turkey’s leading exporters’ association yesterday.

“It is impossible to reach a sustainable growing economy without innovative solutions in businesses,” said Mehmet Büyükekşi, chairman of Turkey’s Exporters’ Association (TİM) at a press meeting to announce a global event to be held in Istanbul. “Turkey’s skyrocketing current account problem can be overcome through innovation,” he said.

Prominent speakers

According to official data, Turkey’s deficit was nearly $6.8 billion for September, nearly 80 percent higher than the same month in the previous year, reaching a new record of $77.6 billion in a 12 month period.

TİM organized the Turkey Innovation Conference to be held Dec. 7 and 8, which is scheduled to host several business leaders from all over the world including Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, who founded Al-Jazeera television, and Mike Lazaridis, the founder of BlackBerry smart phones. Also among the keynote speakers of the conference will be Professor Mary-Claire King, the human geneticist at the University of Washington, where she studies genetics and environmental influences on human conditions such as HIV and breast and ovarian cancers.

Clayton Christensen, professor at Harvard Business School and author of “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” and Dr. Lyndon Evans, the project leader of the CERN project in Switzerland, will also address participants during the conference