They are using the visa like the sword of Damocles against Turkey.

The ITO President said, “We condemn the procedure applied to the business world on the visa issue as the sword of Damocles.”

– Avdagiç, “When visas are no longer an obstacle, the Turkish business world will carry its current potential much higher. As the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, we are working dynamically on this issue.”

Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) President Şekib Avdagiç reacted to the applied procedure and said, “We strongly condemn the visa issue being used as the sword of Damocles on Turkey and the Turkish business world.”

According to the written statement made by the ITO, Avdagiç made statements about the issues on the business world’s agenda and the ITO’s 2024 work and 2025 work program at the Chamber’s Extraordinary Assembly Meeting.

Stating that the number one issue awaiting a solution when it comes to international relations or trade and purchasing programs is the visa issue, Avdagiç said, “When visas are no longer an obstacle, the Turkish business world will carry its current potential much higher. As the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, we are working dynamically on this issue.”

Şekib Avdagiç said, “We condemn the visa issue being used as the sword of Damocles over Turkey and the Turkish business world. We are carrying this issue to our meetings with EU country officials in all its dimensions and stating what is necessary clearly.”

– “We organized the participation of Turkish companies in 47 fairs in 2024”

İTO President Avdagiç stated that as İTO, they have taken great steps in opening new horizons for the Turkish economy in the fields of production, export, employment and investment.

Avdagiç drew attention to the fact that as İTO, they reached a record number in 2024 and organized the participation of Turkish companies in 47 fairs abroad, and said, “We organized 39 fairs in 2023. He stated that “We, as İTO, had the national participation in 32 of the 47 fairs in 2024.” Noting that they have already completed the scheduling of 38 fairs in 2025, Avdagiç said, “Our goal is to make Turkey’s mark with more comprehensive participation in the main fairs. We believe that Turkey’s exports and employment will increase with the fairs, and our members will reach new markets.”

Avdagiç emphasized that the export potential for markets such as India, China, Malaysia and Indonesia is high, and said, “We plan to establish ‘country desks’ for countries with these characteristics and increase our commercial activities.”

– The works of the organizations that İTO is a partner of

Avdagiç stated that Istanbul Commerce University, which İTO founded, is one of the biggest social responsibility projects, and said, “Our journey, which started in 2001 with 73 students, has reached 9,225 students as of the 2024-2025 academic year. The number of our graduate students in our 23-year journey has increased to 26,625,” he said. Avdagiç said that 1201 international students from 85 different nationalities are studying at Istanbul Commerce University.

İTO President Avdagiç emphasized that İTO affiliates achieved great success in 2024 and said, “İstanbul Expo Center (İFM), which is under the responsibility of Istanbul World Trade Center (İDTM), has carried out honorable fair activities. “An average of 80 fairs are organized every year in the 11 halls of İFM with an area of ​​95 thousand square meters,” he said. Avdagiç also stated that the İDTM Business Center serves the business world with its 346 offices, stores, restaurants and cafes.

Şekib Avdagiç stated that Teknopark İstanbul, established together with the Presidency of Defense Industries, continues to be the pride of the country in defense and advanced technology production. Avdagiç said, “As of December 2024, there are approximately 500 active R&D companies in Teknopark İstanbul. “The 10,500 R&D, software and design personnel working in these companies are building the present and future of the Turkish defense industry by carrying out nearly 900 active projects,” he said. Avdagiç noted that the number of projects implemented in Teknopark Istanbul to date has reached 4,000.

Avdagiç, who explained that as the Information Commercialization Center (BTM), they supported 1,158 initiatives and 1,486 entrepreneurs in 2024, continued as follows: “Approximately 25 percent of the entrepreneurs in BTM are women entrepreneurs. We plan to further increase the rate of women entrepreneurs within BTM in the upcoming period,” he said. Stating that 17 entrepreneurs of BTM received 196 million TL in investment in 2024, Avdagiç said, “The amount of investment received by BTM entrepreneurs to date has reached 1.1 billion TL, and the investment valuation amount has reached 8.5 billion TL.”

– “As ICVB, we hosted 69 international congresses this year”

Avdagiç underlined that they are carrying out important works in the field of tourism to increase the brand value of Istanbul, and stated that as ICVB, they have hosted 69 international congresses that they have brought and supported to Istanbul as of December 2024, with the number of participants varying between 50 and 7300. Avdagiç said, “We will bring and support 14 international congresses to our city in 2025 and 14 international congresses in 2026.”