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Viewing cable 07ANKARA1567, GUIDE TO TURKISH BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07ANKARA1567 2007-06-19 13:05 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Ankara
VZCZCXRO9438
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #1567/01 1701305
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191305Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2652
INFO RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 2056
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2900
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001567 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
TREASURY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - JROSE, MNUGENT 
USDOC FOR ITA - CRUSNAK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP BBSR ECON TU
SUBJECT: GUIDE TO TURKISH BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS 
 
REF: ANKARA 1015 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified. 
 
1.  (U)  Summary: Turkey's cornucopia of business 
organizations is often impenetrable and confusing to 
outsiders.  Following is a brief introduction to the major 
players.  More on each is available on Intellipedia 
(classified) under the title "Turkish Business Associations." 
 End Summary. 
 
---- 
TOBB 
---- 
 
2. (SBU) TOBB, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges 
of Turkey, is the mother of all Turkish business groups.  It 
is the nationwide headquarters organization for 364 local 
chambers of commerce, industry, maritime commerce and 
commodity exchanges.  It is the largest non-profit business 
organization in Turkey and acts as the spokesman for Turkish 
business with the government and foreign business 
organizations.  Membership is mandatory for registered 
businesses.  It is led by the dynamic and high-profile Rifat 
Hisarciklioglu.  TOBB has been supportive of the OECD's 
investment initiative for the Middle East and is the sponsor 
of the "Industry for Peace" project, a Turkish initiative to 
develop an industrial zone in the Gaza strip.  TOBB also 
cooperates closely with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- its 
closest U.S. counterpart -- on a variety of initiatives. 
Website: www.tobb.org.tr 
 
---- 
DEIK 
---- 
 
3. (SBU)  Turkey's international business association is 
DEIK, the Foreign Economic Relations Board.  DEIK consists of 
75 bilateral business councils with Turkey's trading 
partners.  These include the Turkish-American Business 
Council and the Turkish-Iraq Business Council, etc.  DEIK's 
chairman is Rona Kircali.  On July 4-6, 2006, DEIK will host 
the "World Chambers Conference" in Istanbul, bringing 
together chambers of commerce and industry from around the 
globe.  Since May 2006, the Turkish-American Business Council 
(TAIK in Turkish) has been chaired by Ferit Sahenk, the 
U.S.-educated head of Dogus group (see below).  TAIK 
cooperates with the Washingon, DC-based American Turkish 
Council (ATC) in sponsoring an annual meeting in Washington 
as well as Congressional study trips to Turkey.  Website: 
www.turkey-now.org 
 
------ 
TUSIAD 
------ 
 
4.  (SBU)  TUSIAD, the Turkish Industrialists' and 
Businessmen's Association, is a fundamentally different 
animal from the above-mentioned groups, all of which come 
under the TOBB umbrella.  TUSIAD represents the elite, 
traditional Istanbul-based family business dynasties like 
Sabanci, Koc, Dogan, Dogus.  TUSIAD members, however, are 
individuals not companies, and include employees of other 
companies as well as multinational and U.S. companies.  With 
its large interest in Turkey's economy (members' companies 
are said to account for up to 70% of annual exports), TUSIAD 
takes a broad interest in foreign policy and political, as 
well as business, issues.  It maintains representative 
offices in Brussels and Washington, DC.  TUSIAD is currently 
led by its first chairwoman, Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag, 
daughter of media magnate Aydin Dogan.  Mustafa Koc of the 
Koc group serves as president of TUSIAD,s High Advisory 
Council.  Website: www.tusiad.org 
 
----------------- 
TUSKON and MUSIAD 
----------------- 
 
5.  (SBU)  TUSKON, the Confederation of Industrialists and 
Businessmen of Turkey, and its associated geographic 
federations (i.e. MARIFED in the Marmara region) are business 
groups that follow the philosophy and teachings of Fethullah 
Gulen (ref Istanbul 353).  TUSKON is led by Rizanur Meral, 
former chairman of Sanko Holdings, and its secretary general 
is Mustafa Gunay.  TUSKON recently opened an office in 
Washington, DC.  MUSIAD (the Independent Industrialists' and 
 
ANKARA 00001567  002 OF 002 
 
 
Businessmen's Association) is an "independent" business 
organization that contrasts itself with TUSIAD as reprensting 
the interests of smaller companies.  Many observers also 
assert that MUSIAD has a political agenda aligned with the 
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).  MUSIAD is headed 
by Omer Bolat, General Manager of the Albayrak group. 
Website: TUSKON - www.tuskon.org, MUSIAD - www.musiad.org.tr 
 
---------------- 
YASED, TIM, TISK 
---------------- 
 
6.  (SBU)  Less prominent, but still influential business 
organizations include YASED, the association of foreign 
investments, which seeks to represent the interets of foreign 
direct investors, i.e. multinational companies. Individual 
members and officers tend to be Turkish executives of foreign 
firms and meetings are conducted in Turkish not English. 
YASED elected in February 2007 a new chairman,  Tahir Uysal, 
the General Director of BP Turkey.  TIM, the Turkish 
Exporters Assembly, is a more grouping of 59 sectoral and 
regional exporters unions.  TIM works closely on export 
promotion with Turkey's Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade. 
TIM is led by Oguz Satici, the outspoken defender of 
exporters' interests, particularly in the textile sector. 
TISK, the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations, 
speaks for employers in the business community, as the 
counterpart to labor unions.  TISK is led by president Tugrul 
Kudatgobilik.  Websites: YASED - www.yased.org.tr, TIM - 
www.tim.org.tr, TISK - www.tisk.org.tr. 
 
------ 
TUGIAD 
------ 
 
7.  (SBU)  The Turkish Association of Young Businesspeople 
(TUGIAD) is an independent organization made up of young 
entrepreneurs.  It is headquartered in Ankara and has 
branches in most major cities.  Among its other activities, 
TUGIAD offers training programs to young businesspeople.  Its 
president, Murat Sarayli, is also the president of a 
Europe-wide association called "Young Entrepreneurs for 
Europe" that lobbies on behalf of entrepreneurs within the EU 
and some surrounding countries, including Turkey.  Website: 
www.tugiad.org.tr 
 
------------- 
ABFT and TABA 
------------- 
 
8.  (SBU)  Both the American Business Forum in Turkey (ABFT) 
and the Turkish American Business Association (TABA) are 
"AmChams" located in Istanbul that are affiliated with the 
United States Chamber of Commerce.  ABFT membership is 
limited to U.S.-based companies doing business in Turkey, 
while TABA's membership predominently consists of Turkish 
companies with a U.S. connection.  ABFT has been particularly 
active in addressing policy issues of interest to U.S. 
companies.  In 2007 it sponsored a survey of business 
conditions in Turkey for foreign firms and a conference on 
how to promote a policy environment that favors innovation, 
risk-taking, and entrepreneurship.  TABA has branch 
organizations in Ankara and Adana, but these appear to be 
inactive. 
 
Linguistic note:  The Turkish language is gender-neutral. 
Although the term "Isadamlar" is often translated as 
"businessmen," it includes businesswomen and is perhaps 
better rendered as "businesspeople." 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON