On 20 June 2014, BSCSIF and ICSCEC representatives participated in a meeting with the Secretary General of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), Mr. Bahhri Can Çalıcıoğlu and DEIK Coordinator, Ms. Çağla Mazlum.
The meeting took place at the premises of DEİK, where, on behalf of BSCSIF, its Executive Director, Ms. Alev Balgi presented the 5 year activity of the Fund in strengthening regional economic cooperation, including the establishment in December 2013 of the ICSCEC. On behalf of the Center, its Secretary General, Mr. Murat Teber, presented the planned projects on promoting innovation and innovative technologies and the upcoming business forum to be held in Minsk, Belarus in October 2014. ICSCEC Project Coordinator, Ms. Natalia Ciobanu presented the ongoing research project on understanding Turkey’s role in the sustainable economic development of the region, emphasizing the contribution that DEIK could have in building a more complete picture.
The two organizations shared ideas on what could jointly be done to contribute to economic development in the BSCS countries, and convened to engage Turkish companies more actively in BSCSIF projects targeting economic cooperation.
Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) is an organization of the business community, which aims for the “high value added” integration of Turkey and the Turkish private sector into the process of globalization. Having assumed the duty of “managing the foreign economic relations of the Turkish private sector”, DEİK actively operates in the commercial, investment and service areas including exports, imports, inward foreign direct investment and outward foreign direct investment, international construction, energy-related issues, banking and logistics.
The cooperation between BSCSIF and DEİK is in line with BSCSIF objective to promote and strengthen economic cooperation between the countries represented in the BSCSIF.