Minister Ağbal made assessments regarding the economy in a widely attended program where he met with industrialists from OSTİM.
Speaking at the opening of the program, OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın expressed his satisfaction with the interest shown by Minister of Finance Naci Ağbal in OSTİM. Aydın stated that OSTİM has transformed Ankara from a bureaucratic city into an industrial city.
Aydın emphasized that the vast majority of companies located in organized industrial zones in Ankara originated from OSTİM, and continued: “We are leaving our mark on Ankara's industry with OSTİM. Our clustering activities are not limited to OSTİM; they encompass all of Ankara, and sometimes even extend beyond Ankara, in sectors such as defense and aerospace, medical and construction machinery, energy, rubber, and rail systems. We are intensely working on how to make these companies more competitive, how to sell their products worldwide, how to collaborate with universities, how to connect them with public sector policies, how to localize imported products, and how to close the foreign trade deficit.”
Municipalities are indifferent to local products.
Orhan Aydın, noting that municipalities' resources are provided by the Ministry of Finance, stated, "Municipalities are not showing the necessary sensitivity regarding the purchase of domestic products. Our domestic companies have made significant progress. The Turkish industry has developed considerably in rail systems. We are ambitious in defense and aerospace, in medical, in rubber, and there is a wealth of energy potential in our region. We will develop this further. We have full confidence that you will show the necessary effort in these endeavors. We believe in your stronger contributions to industry, production, and domestic industry. In this sense, as industrialists, we will stand by you to the end."
Emphasizing that SMEs form the backbone of the country, Aydın continued: “The people who climbed onto the tanks on July 15th are people who came from here. We have two martyrs in our region. These are the people who will stand up for their country's problems, their homeland, their nation, their flag, their history, and their geography. I have complete faith in the strength of small businesses, their resilience in the struggle, and their sensitivity to addressing every problem of the country.”
“We prioritized your opinions in the legal regulations”
Finance Minister Naci Ağbal recalled that he came directly to OSTİM the day he became Deputy Chairman, and said that this was his third visit to the region. Highlighting the strength, energy, and entrepreneurship in OSTİM, Ağbal said, “I express my admiration and appreciation for your work here everywhere. While making many legal regulations and taking many decisions in the field of fiscal policy, we have always prioritized the issues you raised during our meetings in OSTİM.”
“OSTİM is getting a university”
Ağbal stated that the government would meet OSTİM's needs and respond to all its requirements, and shared his views on the OSTİM Technical University as follows: “OSTİM is getting a university. As I said in our previous meetings, university-industry cooperation is very important. We usually tell our universities to go and cooperate with our industrialists. This time, the industrialists took the initiative. OSTİM is establishing its own university. I congratulate them. May it be auspicious. As the Ministry of Finance, we will provide all the support necessary for the establishment of the university.”
“OSTİM identified strategic sectors before us”
During his visits to OSTİM, Ağbal expressed his satisfaction at seeing young entrepreneurs focused on innovation and R&D, keeping global competition in mind, and stated, “OSTİM is producing many entrepreneurs in this sense. As a government, we have strategic sectors that we have identified in our 2023 vision. I am pleased to see that OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone has foreseen this vision and seized these opportunities before us. As a minister, and as a government, we are all with you. We will continue to make efforts for the growth and development of OSTİM.”
“OSTİM’s sensitivity regarding July 15th is beyond all praise”
Minister Ağbal, offering condolences to the families of the martyrs from OSTİM on July 15th, said, “The sensitivity shown by OSTİM against the coup attempt on the night of July 15th is beyond all praise. We say, ‘OSTİM is Turkey.’ Just as all of Turkey was in the streets and squares that night, the industrialists of OSTİM, who uphold national and spiritual values and prioritize their nation above all else, also stood by the national will that day.”
“I will be monitoring the electricity consumption graph.”
Minister Ağbal, drawing attention to the increase in OSTİM's electricity consumption graph since September 2016, said, "This pleased us greatly. From August onwards, we took very serious decisions to get the wheels of the economy turning again. We implemented fiscal policy. We reduced many taxes on investment and production. We abolished taxes. The Turkish economy once again demonstrated its strength. We achieved a rapid recovery in the last quarter of 2016. From now on, I will be monitoring OSTİM's electricity meter. Because whatever the economic growth is in the last quarter, OSTİM's electricity consumption graph reflects it exactly."
"If the economy grew by 3.5 percent in the last quarter of 2016, and if the electricity meter graph of OSTİM followed that trend, and if it continues to rise in January, February, and March of 2017, then hopefully we will grow even more in the first quarter of 2017. We are already seeing this good news from the electricity meter graph of OSTİM. Thank you all, it's great that you're here," he said.
