BRUSSELS - Rifat Hisarciklioglu, chairman of the Union of Chambers & Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), stated that everybody should have trust in Turkey, which is currently the 17th biggest economy of the world, and some day could become one of the top 10 countries.
Hisarciklioglu, who arrived in Belgian capital of Brussels in order to attend the annual meeting of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBERS), participated in a reception held in his honour by the Turkish ambassador in Brussels Fuat Tanlay.
Addressing Turkish entrepreneurs in Belgium, Hisarciklioglu noted that 25 years ago Turkey had nearly 1000 foreign trade companies and its exports, which mainly focused on agriculture and mining, reached 3 billion USD .
"Turkey now has 40,000 foreign trade companies and its exports which mainly comprise of industrial products, reach 100 billion USD," Hisarciklioglu noted.
Comparing the country`s current and previous tourism incomes as well, Hisarciklioglu said, Turkey, which earned 300 million USD from tourism 25 years ago, now totalled 18 billion USD from this sector.
Hisarciklioglu stated that such a remarkable improvement meant "making something out of nothing".