Mr. Muharrem Yılmaz delivered the opening speech of the 8th Competitiveness Congress

The 8th Competitiveness Congress, organized by SEDEFED (Federation of Industrial Associations) and Sabancı University–TÜSİAD Competitiveness Forum (REF) in partnership was held on 15th November 2012 at the Istanbul Marmara Hotel, with the title of “Enhancing Competitiveness with Industrial Policies”

The opening addresses of the Congress were made by Prof. Dr. Nihat Berker, President of Sabancı University and Co-President of REF High Council, Mr. Muharrem Yılmaz, Vice President of the Board of Directors of TÜSİAD, Mr. Timur Erk, President of the Board of Directors of SEDEFED, Mr. Süleyman Onatça President of the Board of Directors of TÜRKONFED and Mr. Mehmet Büyükekşi, President of TİM (Turkish Exporters’ Assembly).

In his opening address, Mr. Muharrem Yılmaz stated his belief in the necessity of an integrated industrial policy which includes horizontal measures uplifting the competitive advantage of all industries, and he said: “Only using this approach we can design and implement an industrial policy which ‘creates more value added’, ‘decreases current account deficit’, ‘is more efficient’ and ‘creates more employment’” Mr. Yılmaz remarked that according to World Economic Forum Global Competition Report, Turkey ranked 59th among 142 countries in the period of 2011-2012, and its ranking has risen to 43rd among 144 countries in 2012-2013 which resulted in its inclusion among the countries in transition from efficiency-driven to innovation driven economies. Mr. Yılmaz drew attention that there are two component of the competitiveness index for which Turkey scores less than average and these are “Labor Market Efficiency” and “Innovation”.

The Congress considered various aspects of increasing the competitiveness through industrial policies. Dr. Chiara Criscuolo, Senior Economist at the OECD, Dr. Can Fuat Gürlesel, from the Ekonomi ve Strateji Danışmanlık Hizmetleri, and Advisor of TİM, and Mr. Agah Uğur, CEO of Borusan Holding were the guest speakers.

Mr. Ömür Demir Kızılarslan, General Director of Economic Research and Assessment at the Ministry of Economy, and Mr. İbrahim Uslu, General Director of Incentive Implementation and Foreign Investment, at the Ministry of Economy made their presentations. As part of Congress activities, two panel discussions titled ““Enhancing Competitiveness with Industrial Policies” and “Competitiveness in the Chemical Industry Value Chain” was organized.

Two reports prepared by SEDEFED and REF were launched during the Congress. The report titled “WEF Global Competition Report 2012-2013, An Assessment of Turkey” was presented by Prof. Dr. Füsun ÜLENGİN, Dean of the Engineering Faculty of Doğuş University, and the report titled “Chemical Industry Competitiveness Report 2012”, by Asst. Prof. Dr. Şule ÖNSEL from the Doğuş University.

The Third Competitiveness Awards were also presented during the Congress. In the category of Large Enterprises, BRİSA, in the category of SMEs, System 9 Medya won the awards, while İnci Akü received a special Achievement Award

The first “Competitiveness Congress” was organized in 2005 with the partnership of SEDEFED (Federation of Industrial Associations) and Sabancı University–TÜSİAD Competitiveness Forum (REF) with the purpose of raising awareness of all the stakeholders about competitiveness. The Congress aims at contributing to the formation of industrial policies and government-university-private sector cooperation as the basis of a breakthrough in economic development. A Platform guiding competition policy in our country, the Competitiveness Congress was organized with the main theme of “Innovation” in 2006, “Growth Dynamics” in 2007, “Global Prospects” in 2008, “The Way of Recovery” in 2009, “Competitiveness in the Design of the Future” in 2012, “Growth, Competitiveness, Innovation” in 2011.