Türkiye’s MUSIAD Expo sets $300 billion export target

A major trade exhibition is underway in Türkiye’s Istanbul where organisers expect the participation of over 100,000 people – mainly businessmen and entrepreneurs – from 124 countries. 

Dubbed MUSIAD Expo, the event aims to get closer to Türkiye’s 2023 export targets, set at $300 billion by the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Hosting its 19th edition, MUSAID, a conglomerate of Türkiye’s independent industrialists and business associations, has attracted purchasing delegations from 60 countries, which the organisers say will prove to be instrumental in enhancing cooperation and trade links with investors abroad.

“We are very proud to be here and to represent Belarus and our products. MUSIAD is a huge exhibition and there are a lot of visitors. We hope to find good partners here,” Andrei Laurukevich, chief specialist of the Department of Foreign Economic Relations in Belarus, said.

Abdullah Eris, the chief executive officer of a caravan-making firm Serm & Barr, said, “This is our first time attending MUSIAD Expo. But I have known about the exhibition from much earlier. This is a global expo, there are too many people coming from all around the world. So, we have good expectations.”

MUSIAD President Mahmut Asmali, while delivering the opening at the fair, stressed on taking the country’s export vision to a higher level.

“We aim to create a business connection of approximately $5 billion with the cooperation and investment projections to be realised within the framework of MUSIAD Expo,” he said. “We strongly believe that the meetings to be held within the framework of MUSIAD Expo will yield positive results.”

Meanwhile, Oguz Atik, managing director of HD Fitout – a primarily construction company that imports coffee from Ethiopia on the sidelines, was overwhelmed at the response.

“There are visitors from more than 100 countries,” he said. “Coffee is a worldwide commodity. Many people are very interested and they are taking samples, asking for prices. We are so hopeful that we are having new contacts.”

The MUSIAD Expo comes at a time when the world’s major economies are reeling from the pandemic years. 

But despite the challenges, Türkiye managed to sustain its economy, which is a sentiment echoed by the president of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye, or DEIK, at the exhibition. 

“During the pandemic, what we learned is that the ones who did not break the supply chain were the winners. So, Türkiye is one of those, the winners,” Nail Olpak, DEIK’s president, said.

“The main success of Türkiye’s story during this time is keeping the supply chain. And I believe by having this, we are going to earn more in the coming years.”