Turkish exporters’ association elects new chairman

ISTANBUL

Businessman Mehmet Gülle was elected as chairman of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) on June 30.

He was elected with 149 votes at a general assembly meeting attended by 398 delegates, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, according to a statement by the association.

Two more candidates, Oğuz Satıcı and Tahsin Öztiryaki, competed in the election.

Gülle, who heads a textile company, was also the chairman of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association.

In a speech, Gülle said he will take up a more proactive and powerful position in the association.

In a speech at the meeting, Yıldırım asked for exporters to work more to increase exports.

“Turkey’s exports have been increasing, but we need to give a bigger boost to our exports. Our imports have also been increasing, even in a higher speed than our exports. We hope we will find a balance by this year. When we give a bigger boost to our exports, our current account deficit will decline and a recovery in our economy will become more visible,” he said.

Delegates also voted for TIM Sectors Council and TIM Board of Audit.

The chairman, the sectors council, and the audit board will complete a four-year term.

Mehmet Büyükekşi, outgoing chairman of TİM, said winning was not as important as the country’s export and economy’s success.

He also voiced exporters’ demands from the government.

“We have appreciated the incentives offered by the government, but we have new expectations…We want Turkey’s economy and exports to top the agenda and we want the inflation rate and the interest rates to decrease to single digits. We want structural reforms to be realized. We want both local and foreign investors to be encouraged more to do business in Turkey. One of our demands is the end of the state of emergency,” he said, adding that they also want the government to accelerate Turkey’s accession with the European Union, which is the largest market for Turkey.

During the TİM meeting, 10 companies, which made the largest exports in 2017, were also awarded.

TİM, established in 1993, is an umbrella organization of over 70,000 export companies.