A TÜSİAD delegation visited Berlin to hold talks on proper understanding of the aftermath of the events of 15th of July and on further strengthening the long established relationship between Turkey and Germany

23 Sep 2016 Related File
A TÜSİAD delegation visited Berlin to hold talks on proper understanding of the aftermath of the events of 15th of July and on further strengthening the long established relationship between Turkey and Germany

Ms. Cansen Başaran-Symes, President of the Board of Directors of TÜSİAD: "Our Berlin visit during these hard times of Turkey included very important meetings on our relations with Germany and the EU. We observed that open dialogues with our interlocutors are very effective in further strengthening our long established relationship with Germany.

A TÜSİAD delegation visited Berlin to hold talks on proper understanding of the aftermath of the events of 15th of July and on further strengthening the long established relationship between Turkey and Germany. Berlin visit included meetings with the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German counterpart of TÜSİAD, and with various think tanks, members of parliament and media.

The main message of Ms. Cansen Başaran-Symes, President of the Board of Directors of TÜSİAD in these talks has been as follows:

"15th of July has been a victory for democracy, a victory won by the Turkish People, political parties, government bodies, institutions of media and civil society. To ensure the permanency of this victory, our priority is to gather strength from the confidence based on the current social reconciliation, and employ this confidence in reinforcing democracy, liberty and state of law in our country, and also in accelerating the pace of our development. The normalization of the economic, political and social environment in Turkey is the major goal of the business community. Strong relations with our prominent partners such as Germany about the EU process, the G20 agenda, and similar important issues are crucial in this context. Our visit during these hard times of Turkey included very important meetings on our relations with Germany and the EU. We think that our visit will contribute substantially to the understanding of many dimensions of the current situation of Turkey in Germany. We observed that open dialogues with our interlocutors are very effective in further strengthening our long established relationship with Germany. There is a consensus that in order to develop the bilateral relations, governments, business organizations and academia in both countries have to take concrete steps.

On the other hand, concerns about the political influence and economic appeal of Turkey in international circles, and particularly in Germany were communicated, and expectation about the termination of the state of emergency, the acceleration of the process of EU reforms, and the update of the Customs Union were expressed. TÜSİAD has already initiated a series of new economic and cultural studies with the aim of answering these concerns. The well-established institutional relations and working experience of TÜSİAD with Germany can be considered as an essential asset for these projects."

Ms. Cansen Başaran-Symes, President of the Board of Directors of TÜSİAD