Orhan Turan, Chairman of the Board of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD), said, “As we enter our 100th anniversary, our goal is a developed, respectable, fair and environmentally friendly Turkey in the light of the values of the Republic built on reason, science, law and freedom.” In his speech at the 31st Quality Congress held by the Turkish Quality Association (KalDer) at the Kocaeli Congress Center with the theme “Beyond Risk: Justice in Science, Industry and Society”, Turan said that the world is going through a turbulent period in terms of economy and politics. Expressing that it is not easy to direct trends, seize opportunities brought by changing conditions and find solutions to deepening inequalities in such periods, Turan noted that many problems that they rarely encountered in the very recent past have now become permanent parts of the global risk mosaic. Turan stated that he finds the theme of today’s congress very important in this respect, “Because the key to exit is to see beyond the risk. We can only find the answer to how we can achieve this when we analyze the size and effects of our global problems sufficiently. The global welfare environment, especially in the last 5 years, is economic and social. “The world economy has experienced new fractures, and continues to do so. The slowdown in the world economy is becoming increasingly evident. According to the IMF’s updated forecasts last month, the growth, which was 6 percent last year, is expected to decline to 3.2 this year and 2.7 next year. Russia “The pressure of the Ukraine War on energy, food and raw material prices in general is fueling the inflationary environment in the world,” he said. Stating that they still feel the negative impact of the epidemic on the global supply chain, Turan stated that supply constraints continue, especially in China. Turan stated that Europe may be exposed to a longer energy crisis and supply shock than expected, and that the tightening monetary policies along with the inflationary environment slowed down the global economic activity. He said he was forced. Stating that these processes should be taken into account in policy design in order to increase global competitiveness, reveal existing potentials and increase both social and economic welfare levels, Turan said, “The current challenging picture should not prevent us from seeing opportunities. At the point we have determined, it is possible to progress in terms of investment, employment, competitiveness, economic stability and welfare. Noting that the key to sustainable transformation is through global and holistic cooperation that includes all sectors, Turan said, “The way to sustainability is the adoption of a development approach that centers on green and digital transformation by all stakeholders.”
“Our goal is a developed, respectable, fair and environmentally friendly Turkey”
Emphasizing that the most important element for ensuring both green and digital transformation is qualified human resources, Turan said that every step to be taken towards the adaptation of society and workforce to digital and green transformation is a must for long-term development. Expressing that they need to develop employment-oriented holistic policies and mechanisms without wasting time, Turan stated that they should continuously invest in the skills of the existing workforce and make this a life-long investment. Stating that equal opportunities should be ensured in accessing quality education starting from kindergarten, Turan noted that they talked about an education that strengthens people’s creativity, free and scientific thinking, and digital and socio-emotional skills. TÜSİAD President Turan concluded his words as follows: “Development can only be possible with an understanding that aims to create long-term value for all stakeholders and contribute to the welfare of society with social and environmental dimensions. The basis of this new understanding is the one we emphasized in our ‘Building the Future with a New Understanding’ study, which we published last year. Our priority should be to develop the competencies of our people, to be based on science and technological development, and to implement reliable and inclusive institutions and rules in all fields from economy to law and democracy. “Our goal, in the light of the values of the Republic built on law and freedom, is a developed, respectable, fair and environmentally friendly Turkey. I believe this vision, which I think fits very well with today’s theme, will help us reach our goals.”