The four-day 16th International Business Forum begins in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Some 5,000 international business leaders from Islamic countries met at the forum organized by MÜSİAD on Oct 11. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

Some 5,000 international businesspeople, mainly from Islamic countries, met at the 16th International Business Forum (IBF) for four days of cooperation talks organized by Turkey’s second-largest business association, the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD).

Turkey’s exports to European Union countries have decreased, while exports to Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries increased 32 percent in the past year, said Nail Olpak, chairman of MÜSİAD, speaking at the IBF’s opening ceremony, with Prime Minister Receğ Tayyip Erdoğan in attendance.

“Turkey has built stronger trading ties with Islamic countries, and this should increase even more,” Olpak said. The IBF is the largest event bringing representatives of the Islamic business world together, he said, adding that it will provide opportunities for new bilateral deals and expand trade volumes between the countries.

The Turkish Central Bank’s 2012 reserve has reached $112 billion, Erdoğan said, adding that Turkey’s aim was to increase this to “a trillion dollars” by 2023, the 100th year of the founding of the Turkish Republic. He also commented on the “Turkish economy’s low growth,” saying that in 2013 Turkey’s growth rate will begin to increase. “We succeeded in reaching and 8.5 percent growth rate last year. This year we will reach 3 percent, because we put the brakes on growth to a degree in order to secure balance in our economy. Yet even at this rate we have one of the highest growth numbers among world economies,” Erdoğan said.