Turkish businesses set new goals for diaspora

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu (C) is seen with Coca-Cola Chief Executive Muhtar Kent (L) and DEİK Chairman Rona Yırcalı at a meeting of the World Turkish Business Council. AA photo

New goals to make the Turkish diaspora more active in political and economic scenes in their countries of residence have been set by the World Turkish Business Council (DTİK), founded in 2009 under the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), an affiliate of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB).
 
“We aim to establish a comprehensive organization in two years, with nearly 2,000 representatives that will act in concert in more than 100 countries,” Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said yesterday at a meeting of the DTİK.
Coca-Cola Company Chairman and Chief Executive Muhtar Kent will head a high advisory board, he said, adding that regional committees in Eurasia, Europe, the Balkans, Asia-Pacific, America and the Middle East-Persian Gulf-Africa will be established.

“Our goal is to be one of the three most ascendant diasporas in the world by the 100th anniversary of our republic,” he said.

‘Franchise Platform‘

Among the decisions taken by the DTİK are to conduct a project polishing global public opinion of Turkish restaurants around the world and to establish a “Diaspora Franchise Platform” to support Turkish entrepreneurs abroad and Turkish businesses in the homeland, he said.

Noting that the government had founded the “Turks Abroad and Relative Communities Directorate,” Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “We can now proudly pronounce that the diaspora issue has become a national policy as a result of our work.”