BY IPEK YEZDANI
As the Turkish economy struggles with the currency crisis and high inflation, the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is set to hold a one-week-long comprehensive economy congress between February 15-21.
“Apart from leaders of the six-party opposition roundtable, international experts such as (Francis) Fukuyama, Timothy Ash, and songwriter and political activist Bob Geldof will attend the congress,” Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer told journalists at a press conference in Istanbul on January 19.
The first economic congress of Turkey was held in Izmir about a century ago, laying out the economic structure of the new country before the Republic of Turkey was founded. “The Municipality aimed to organize a comprehensive economic congress for the second century of Turkey,” Soyer noted.
“According to a recent poll conducted by Konda, 86% of young people stated that they have no idea about what they would like to achieve in their future. The fact that they have no dream about the future is a desperate indicator of the state of mind of the young people. So, we aim to build a model of the future economy for them,” Soyer added.
Starting from TUSIAD (The Turkish Industry and Business Association) to DISK (The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey), all the different dynamics of the economy in Turkey will be brought together in this congress.
“The Congress preparations commenced with the meetings of various sectoral groups-farmers, workers, industrialists, traders, and artisans. Nearly 180 institutions participated from Turkey in the nine sectoral meetings that were held until today. This month, we will hold the expert meetings before the congress itself. These meetings will bring together experts, academics, thinkers, artists, civil society leaders, politicians, and representatives of the private sector in Turkey,” Soyer noted.
The Izmir Economy Congress called “Future’s Economy” will take place on February 15-21 in Izmir. A final manifesto of the congress will be published at the end of the event.
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance is also set to hold another economy congress in Izmir on February 17, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati previously announced.
