Turkish bustling metropolis Istanbul is gearing up to host the seventh edition of a major economic summit with the main theme of "Sustainable Living and Smart Cities," set to take place at Çırağan Palace between Dec. 8-9, 2023.
The Istanbul Economy Summit, which aims to explore the potential of sustainable practices and innovative technologies in shaping the future of urban environments in addition to practices centered around "transformation to the green economy," will for the first time have an edition abroad.
The summit is set to be held in the German capital Berlin between Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2023, with the aim to convene officials, executives, experts and private sector representatives from Türkiye and multiple other countries to discuss global issues and propose actionable solutions.
Speaking at the press meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday, Istanbul Economic Summit Chairperson of the Executive Board Abdullah Değer noted that 150 businesspeople will attend the event in Berlin, arriving on a Turkish Airlines (THY) private passenger plane.
Noting that many businesspeople from Germany will also attend the summit, Değer said, "With the summit, we aim to develop economic cooperation and partnerships between European and Turkish businesses, bring together the leading names, experts and representatives of both Turkish and European business world, to explore investment opportunities and to develop economic cooperation."
Değer, in addition, emphasized the significance of the uninterrupted continuation of the summit, organized annually, and said, “Even in the pandemic we convened for the summit as we followed the rule that economic activity never halts.”
Değer further recalled the U.N.'s sustainable development agenda for the period between 2015-2030 underscoring Türkiye's efforts in this regard.
“Although we may see that some countries, particularly Scandinavian nations, have reached many of these goals already, we believe that Türkiye can obtain the stated goals at least in some fields. We as Economy Summit are doing everything we can for this end,” Değer said.
Describing the activities carried out by the organizations supporting the Istanbul Economic Summit in Anatolia, Değer called on all stakeholders to act together quickly and for a common purpose with the mission of contributing to the promotion of Istanbul and Türkiye and making a better and sustainable world possible.
"We must turn these plans into actions and investments that will change the lives of humanity and contribute to the rapid recovery of our economies and societies," he said.
Highlighting the summit's Berlin edition, Değer elaborated on the importance of two major branches and contributors to the Turkish economy, namely tourism and exports, and said, "We do close to 50% of exports to Europe, our tourism revenues coming from Europe are also high. Europe is our indispensable trading partner, while Germany also boasts a large Turkish diaspora, for this reason, we have chosen Berlin."
Addressing the reporters, Koluman Otomotiv Chairperson of the Board of Directors Kaan Saltık highlighted the importance of delivering the economic message from a strategically significant hub such as Istanbul by carefully choosing each year’s theme.
“This year, we are adding another novelty to a summit, by organizing its Berlin edition, hopefully, if it proves to be successful, we aim to bring to the agenda these types of summits in other capitals," Saltık said.
“Our aim is to raise the potential and the profile of the Istanbul Economy Summit and to deliver valuable messages from it," he added.
Held under the sponsorship of the Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TÜRSAB), Koluman Otomotiv, Mercedes Benz Türk A.Ş., Sanofi, Borusan Otomotiv BMW, Oncharge and the Mersin-Tarsus Agricultural Processing Specialized Organized Industrial Zone (TÜIOSB), the two-day summit in December is set to offer 12 different panels on topics including sustainable development, digital transformation, emerging markets, health, automotive, tourism and sustainable living.
