'Places where we cannot go are not ours, we trot around the world'

Turkey established a trade bridge with the world; 1428 businesspeople from 130 countries are meeting Turkish businesspeople. Cape Verde, Seychelles, Guinea Bissau, Botswana and Djibouti from Africa; Venezuela and Panama from Latin America will be participating for the first time in a program this year which will consist of 20 thousand business talks. Turkey - World Trade Bridge 2013 program featuring construction, construction materials, construction machineries, furniture and related machineries was initiated in Istanbul Expo Center under the cooperation of Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) and Ministry of Economy with the support of Turkish Exporters' Assembly. 1,428 businesspeople from 130 countries are meeting 1500 businesspeople from Turkey. Participation of businesspeople from Cape Verde, Seychelles, Guinea Bissau, Botswana and Djibouti in Africa; Venezuela and Panama in Latin America has been ensured for the first time this year in the program in the scope of which 20 thousand business talks will be held. A cooperation agreement was executed between Philippine Chamber of Commerce and TUSKON in the scope of the program. Representatives from the Philippines had already ordered three containers of furniture even before official talks started. Over a thousand interpreters are interpreting in 30 different languages. In a speech during the press conference for Turkey-World Trade Bridge 2013, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said that the capacity and quality of the event was increasing every year, adding that this would be a worldwide brand the patent of which belonged to Turkey. Stating that the country defied the global crisis, and three thousand merchants would come together, Caglayan continued by saying, "We foresee that businesspeople coming from 135 countries in five continents will hold more than 20 thousand bilateral business interviews. This program has a new feature; after this two-day event, 1478 business world representatives coming from abroad will visit 44 different provinces on Friday. They will meet their addressees in 44 different provinces. Such an organization does not have a precedent in the world. We are trotting around the world with the understanding that places we cannot go are not ours." Stating that they are preparing a new roadmap, Caglayan said, "We are working on the scope of new generation support, where the number target countries and priority countries are changed. We will lay down the roadmap in cooperation with NGO's such as TUSKON, Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges (TOBB), Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD), Turkish Industry & Business Association (TUSIAD) and Association of Anatolia Businessmen (ASKON). Storage systems will be established together with Turkish Trade Centers. Our sectors and NGO's will determine the most needed products in the warehouses in such countries. Our NGO's will set up a company, offering storage facilities and instantly supplying the goods to the buyer."