REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT AN ENTERPRISE IRELAND BUSINESS LUNCH, ISTANBUL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT AN ENTERPRISE IRELAND BUSINESS LUNCH, ISTANBUL THURSDAY 25TH MARCH 2010
Hoş geldınız you are all very welcome to this lunch organised by Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Government agency that develops and promotes the indigenous Irish business sector. It’s a great pleasure to be here with you this afternoon in this beautiful city. On my visit so far, I’ve been exploring the many historical and contemporary links between Ireland and Turkey and of course, one of the most important of these is our thriving business relationship.
Underlying all business success is people working and communicating well together. The personal dimension is crucial to a successful business relationship. There is great warmth between the Turkish and Irish peoples. As you may have worked out, Irish people tend to be open, curious, friendly and fun-loving. They clearly feel very much at home in Turkey since over 100,000 Irish people come here on holidays every year. Enterprise Ireland also tells us of the openness and friendliness that they find when dealing with Turkish colleagues and contacts. My own experience over the last three days has certainly validated Turkey’s deserved reputation for extending a very hospitable and warm welcome to the visitor. The shared value our two countries place on personal friendship and warmth is I believe a key factor in explaining the success of the Turkish-Irish business relationship.
Turkey’s population of 70 million, its strategic geographic position and positive business atmosphere make it an important growth market for Irish companies. Ireland has much to offer Turkey in terms of our technology and our products; equally, we have much to learn from Turkey, which has a long tradition of partnership with international companies, including with Irish companies.
Ireland and Turkey have much in common in the sphere of economic development. We share, in many ways, a common economic experience and a similar drive in developing overseas markets for our products and services. Like Turkey, Ireland is essentially an export-oriented economy. We are a world-class supplier of products, components and services. Companies internationally are increasingly turning to Ireland for quality, competitiveness and innovation. In the high technology sectors, Ireland’s ratio of exports to imports is one of the highest in the industrialised world.
I know that Enterprise Ireland focuses its energy in helping Irish companies harness their innovation and find new partners in overseas markets. We extend our hand of friendship and trust that our Turkish friends will work together closely with us as we both grow together over this new century.
Bilateral trade between Turkey and Ireland stands at €1 billion, a significant figure, but not one that should remain static. We believe that it can be increased substantially to the mutual benefit of both countries. Irish companies report that there has been a significant increase in deals and partnerships being closed in Turkey in recent months, which give us great hope for 2010 and beyond. There is great potential for accelerating trade growth between our two countries. There is a strong Irish business interest in Turkey. It is an important market in itself and in terms of its strategic positioning as a meeting point of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. With its substantial level of overseas investment and vibrant locally owned enterprise sector, Turkey's economic development is impressive and of course it is home to numerous world-class companies, many of whom are represented here today. You are an inspiring example of what is possible with the right strategy and the commitment of good people.
A wide spectrum of goods and services are already traded between Ireland and Turkey -medical devices, software and services, food products and pharmaceuticals. Irish companies have also made strong investments in Turkey in recent years, through joint ventures, acquisitions and the setting up of subsidiaries. This is proof positive of the Irish commitment to long-term relationships and sustainable business success in the Turkish market, and of the confidence they have in the capability and dedication of their Turkish colleagues and employees.
Many of the companies represented here today have long recognised that working in fruitful partnership with local enterprises is the key to success. It is the combination of innovative products, local knowledge and contacts and mutual trust that allows companies to compete successfully. We are delighted to celebrate the strong, mutually beneficial relationships that Irish companies have formed with leading Turkish distributors and value-added resellers.
Today’s successful companies think in terms of international customers and global opportunities, and the most effective way to achieve sales growth is through the creation of strategic alliances among export-led companies. I hope that there will be many such alliances between Ireland and Turkey that fully explore the scope for linkages through investment, technology transfer, joint ventures, acquisitions, and other forms of collaborative marketing and trade relationships. Ireland has many companies of proven excellence and performance, with the market access, contact networks and local knowledge to partner Turkish companies in developing both European and wider international markets.
We see ourselves as global exporters of Irish knowledge and expertise; this is by far the single biggest element of our overseas trade. Ireland has created a distinctive niche by cultivating the knowledge economy, in providing a sound business-friendly environment for investment from the global multi-national community and offering our services to markets throughout the world, in association with local partners who share our commitment to excellence.
I would like to thank the many leading Turkish business interests who have given a warm and positive welcome to the development of business links between our two countries. We share the belief that there are significant opportunities for increasing trade between our two countries and look forward to great things in the years ahead. Establishing new markets and new business partners will be central to this renewed approach. To all the Turkish and Irish companies represented here today, I wish you every success.