GUIDE TO TURKISH BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS

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.

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TOBB
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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

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DEIK
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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

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TUSIAD
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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

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TUSKON and MUSIAD
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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

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YASED, TIM, TISK
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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.

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TUGIAD
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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

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ABFT and TABA
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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