Dünya – Having assumed the position of presidency in two leading international organizations working on increasing economic cooperation, the Group of Twenty (G20) and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), Türkiye successfully hosted a large gathering of government officials, investment promotion agencies (IPAs), company executives, academia and business associations at the G20-WAIPA Conference on Foreign Direct Investment held in Istanbul.
Aiming for greater cooperation to facilitate cross-border investments for sustainable development, the event is organized by WAIPA under the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) Presidency with the cooperation of G20, B20 Türkiye, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan delivered the keynote speech at the conference, and said that Türkiye had managed to attract USD 12.4 billion in FDI on average during the last 14 years, a significant increase from the 1991–2001 period, during which the FDI amount into Türkiye averaged USD 1 billion annually. Drawing attention to the role of FDI in sustained growth, Babacan said that economic and political stability were the two most important factors for long-term foreign investors.
ISPAT and WAIPA President Ilker Ayci stated that Türkiye’s success in the last 12 years was a source of inspiration for other countries and added that the country was after new success stories. “Türkiye provided 1.4 million jobs in 2014 alone, which in itself is a success story,” Ayci noted, adding that employment creation capacity was as important as GDP growth for a country like Türkiye.
“Türkiye’s GDP growth has reached an average of 5.3 percent during the last 12 years”, ISPAT and WAIPA President remarked.
Holding the WAIPA Presidency since 2014, ISPAT is the only candidate in the organization’s upcoming presidential elections to be held in Milan, Italy, in June.