Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Prime Minister of the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th Governments of the Republic of Turkey and AK Party Member of Parliament for Konya, met with industrialists in OSTİM. Davutoğlu was briefed about the region by OSTİM Chairman Orhan Aydın.
"The atmosphere in OSTİM reflects the general situation in Türkiye"
Stating that the people of Anatolia have made unique contributions to the Turkish economy through Organized Industrial Zones, Davutoğlu said, “The Organized Industrial Zones are the modern-day reflections of the Ahi tradition. In a sense, it's a modernized Ahi tradition. Through Organized Industrial Zones, the people of Anatolia have contributed to the Turkish economy in a unique way, not through imitation.”
Davutoğlu stated that he closely followed OSTİM during his time as Prime Minister. Noting that the situation in OSTİM reflects the situation throughout Turkey, Davutoğlu continued: “The atmosphere in OSTİM and the Organized Industrial Zones reflects the whole of Turkey. If people here are smiling, it means the economy is doing well.”
In well-established Organized Industrial Zones like OSTİM, if things are going well collectively, that's a reliable indicator. This is the pulse of Turkey. But if there's a fluctuation, that's an alarming warning. If we can't get that warning beforehand, we can't take precautions.”
“Stability and employment are impossible without production”
Davutoğlu emphasized the importance of production in every sense, stating, “Nothing can replace real production. One of the reasons we overcome crises is the robustness of our production infrastructure. This is our most important capacity today. The construction sector is an important sector. But if the construction sector provides industrialists with more returns through real estate and other activities, thus disconnecting them from industry, it is dangerous!”
"Industrialists should be encouraged and kept in production. The main activity of industrialists must be to remain in production. Otherwise, it is not possible for us to achieve stability and protect employment," he said.
The Importance of Production
OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın informed Ahmet Davutoğlu about OSTİM's history and ongoing projects. Aydın explained that OSTİM's foundations were laid in 1967 through the initiatives of the late Cevat Dündar from Kırşehir, who was raised in the Ahi tradition.
Aydın mentioned that they are trying to increase the international competitiveness of companies through the sectoral clusters they have implemented in the region, explaining that OSTİM now works and produces in an integrated way with the world, and emphasized that they have based their foreign activities on clusters. Highlighting the importance of production, President Aydın said, "When you don't appreciate the value of the person who produces and the producer, you end up with a situation where the buyer is constantly dependent on foreign countries."
Stating that they are not limited to OSTİM alone, and that they develop relationships with all regions and companies in the world, Aydın said, “Our OSTİM Business and Construction Machinery Cluster (İŞİM) returned from Africa this week. Our OSTİM Defence and Aerospace Cluster (OSSA) brings global actors in defense and aerospace to Ankara every two years with the Industrial Cooperation Days in Defence and Aerospace (ICDDA). These companies try to do business with our manufacturers in Ankara. There is truly incredible talent here. Global companies also need that talent.”
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