The Competition Congress organized by the Federation of Sectoral Associations (SEDEFED), which operates to increase Türkiye’s competitive power and contribute to the development of sectors, was held with the main theme of “Competition, Education and Technology”. The congress, which also celebrated the 20th year of SEDEFED, which addresses 13 thousand businesses and business people operating in 34 sectors through 50 sectoral associations that are its members, is the first and only congress in Türkiye in its field. This year, which was organized for the 16th time, drew attention to the importance of education and technology in increasing competitiveness.
Rıza Latif, Sedat Yıldız, Berk Özbelli and Burcu Babadağ, board members of our association AYSAD, and our association’s Secretary General Harun Şimşek attended the Competition Congress and SEDEFED Board Member Ulvi Kadakal took a souvenir photo together.
Deputy Minister Çetin Ali Dönmez, in his speech at the opening of the congress, stated that choosing education and technology as the main theme this year was extremely accurate, and that education and technology are among the most prominent elements of countries’ competitiveness.
Drawing attention to the importance of producing technology with local and national resources and making human resources more qualified, in addition to producing technological products, Dönmez said, “No one has any doubt that the steps to be taken in this area will bring much more prosperity to our country and our people.”
Stating that they attach importance to human capital, Dönmez said, “We are moving forward with determination to increase our country’s competitiveness by focusing on areas such as technology-based entrepreneurship, green transformation and digitalization.”
Noting that they aim to make Türkiye a global center in high-tech production by 2030 with the recently launched HIT-30 Program, Dönmez said, “Within the scope of HIT-30, we will support priority investment issues in seven main sectors defined as semiconductors, mobility, green energy, advanced manufacturing, healthy life, digital technologies, communication and space, and in investments complementary to the value chain, with different tools.”
Dönmez pointed out that young people should be equipped with the requirements of the technology age and said, “In this context, it is of great importance that our education system is innovative, technology-focused and has a structure that encourages lifelong learning.”
“A new balance of power is emerging between countries due to the impact of technological innovations and geopolitical fluctuations”
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED) Süleyman Sönmez also stated that in order to transform the values of the republic into an advantage on a global scale, it is necessary to increase qualified human resources in education, place technology at the center of production and develop policies that support sustainable growth.
Sönmez stated that a new balance of power has been formed between countries due to the impact of technological innovations and geopolitical fluctuations, and said, “Türkiye’s position among the leading countries in this picture depends on the strategic steps we will take starting from today, and seizing the opportunities depends on proactive leadership in the triple transformation. However, there are some difficulties in getting out of the middle-income trap and becoming a stronger country in global competition. Inflation is the most important of these. Although the Central Bank’s tight monetary policies have had a positive impact in this regard, sustainable success is not possible without structural reforms. Transformation in education, taking the informal economy under control and strengthening the financial system are important areas that will increase our competitive power.”
Sönmez stated that the implementation of macroeconomic targets can be possible with the effective cooperation of the government and the business world, and noted that in order for this to happen, fundamental problems such as production costs, exchange rate fluctuations and access to financing faced by the private sector must be solved.
“We will see that inflation will decrease even more with the continuation of the Central Bank’s tight monetary policy”
Orhan Turan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD), stated that Türkiye needs to transform its production structure in line with high-tech products and green economy in order to maintain its claim in the intensifying global competition.
Turan pointed out that the share of high-tech production and exports should be increased in order to increase competitive power and growth performance, and said, “Today, competition is done with innovation, knowledge and skills. Therefore, there is a competition for human resources among countries. We need to align our performance in the field of education with our goal of becoming one of the top 10 economies in the world. For this, starting from basic education, we need to provide qualified and We must focus on providing accessible education for everyone.” he said.
Turan, who touched on the importance of creating a strategy on how to receive more payments from international investments, said, “It has started to make progress in combating inflation. The country has seen that the risk premium has decreased, the Central Bank reserves have increased rapidly, and the current deficit has decreased. The continuation of the Central Bank’s tight monetary policy will reduce inflation even further.” he made the following assessment.
“We have to raise individuals who not only use technology but also are developed.”
Emine Erdem, the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Sectoral Associations (SEDEFED), stated that considering the changes in technology and globalization, we are living in a “hyper-competitive age” today.
Erdem stated that the pace of change is increasing and that the key to surviving and evaluating opportunities in this period is having leadership qualities, and said, “Competition is now a leadership struggle. In this race, not only those with global resources, but also those who think advanced, take bold steps and advance with a holistic approach in every field from education to technological infrastructure.” Erdem, who gave signs that more resources should be allocated to education because it is not powerful enough and that the system should be transformed in accordance with the requirements of the age, noted the following:
“Not only those who use technology, but also developed individuals can perform. The most important environment that will be effective in paving the way for Türkiye’s compliance is the environment of trust. The environment of trust is to remain united so that we can continue social peace and economic development with strong foundations. A predictable and fair management will rank the trust of all segments of society as well as the existence and a brighter future will come.”
Competition Board Member Ayşe Ergezen touched on the speed of technological developments in the world and the importance of the distribution of competition in talents.
Ergezen emphasized that the relations between competition and technology are a dynamic process that feed each other and said, “Technology provides support for regional, more efficient, global competition while at the same time creating new business opportunities and completely changing the time.” savings were used.
The congress organized with the support of TÜRKONFED and contributions of Vodafone Business, DFDS, Cey Holding, Genpa, Mey|Diageo, in which leading names of the sectors and academicians played or participated as moderators, featured the following events: “Future Competition Perspectives of the Turkish Business World”, “New Openings in Türkiye’s Competition”, “Competition, Technology and Sustainability Meeting”, “Türkiye’s Great Test in Education and Talent Development”, “Türkiye’s Competition in Global Markets” and “Global Six panels titled “Our New Powers in Competition” were held. The congress was attended by 50 representatives and business people from 34 main products under the roof of SEDEFED.
