‘Türkiye should be a bridge connecting polarized world,’ says business representative

By Emre Gurkan Abay and Emir Yildirim

MOSCOW (AA) - Türkiye should act as a bridge to connect a polarized world and assess potential gains to develop its economy further, the chair of the Russian-Turkish Business People’s Association (RTIB) told Anadolu.

Erdem Acay, speaking on the sidelines of the Verona Eurasia Economic Forum in Istanbul, said that the Turkish and Russian presidents set a $100 billion trade volume target between the two countries.

“Sanctions and certain restrictions (on Russia) are actually increasing the potential for the Turkish business community," he said.

"Competition has begun to emerge between Russians and Turks in certain sectors. While different challenges, new advantages, and potentials are emerging, the Turkish business world needs to focus more on joint investments and joint ventures,” Acay added.

He said that mutual trust can be realized through partnership in key areas to advance the potential and momentum the Turkish business community can gain, not only in Russia but across regions.

“The Turkish business world needs to be more entrepreneurial,” he said. “Many sectors are not subject to sanctions, like food, textiles, and health, but many firms hesitate and that needs to change.”

Acay said that the world is under the hegemony of the US and the EU in the post-Soviet era, but with the formation of BRICS, China and Russia have become rising forces in trade.

“China in particular accounts for 40% of the world’s real production,” he said. “The world will continue to operate with two poles from now on.”

“There are some issues between the US and Europe, but on the other side, there are Russia, India, and Indonesia with massive populations, alongside China, to counter the balance,” he said. “I believe there will be a more participatory two-polar world and Türkiye is located somewhere between the two -- we need to assess what we can get from being a bridge.”

Acay emphasized that real production stands at the core of the economy, and other elements of the economy are built on top of it, while urging Türkiye and Russia to focus on real production.

“You need a platform to build things like software, services, digital technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and more -- cooperation can continue to rise starting from that platform,” he said.

“Turkish and Russian economies complement each other -- we always had close relations and I think we need to boost mutual cooperation in technological production and other high-value-added areas,” he added.