President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the 28th Ordinary General Assembly of the Turkish Exporters Assembly and Export Champions Award Ceremony of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) on September 18.
President Erdoğan presented awards to prominent exporters in 28 different categories at the event, which was attended by Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Treasury and Finance Lütfi Elvan and Minister of Trade Mehmet Muş.
The automobile industry has dominated Türkiye's list of the highest exporters, accounting for half of the top 10 companies. Ford Motor Company was declared Türkiye's top exporter, followed by Toyota Engine Manufacturing Türkiye and Oyak Renault. Two additional automakers, Tofaş and Mercedes-Benz Türk, were ranked eighth and tenth, respectively.
Addressing at the ceremony, President Erdoğan announced Türkiye will take additional steps to assist the country's exporters, including establishing a new fund for exporters, restructuring Turkish Eximbank, and building a new exhibition center.
President Erdoğan emphasized that the country's export power is the most significant leverage for Türkiye to become one of the top 10 global economies. The President went on to explain that the government intends to expand the number of exporters from about 95,000 to 150,000, and eventually to 300,000.
Emphasizing that countries within a 2,000-kilometer range have made up two-thirds of overall exports, President Erdoğan said, "We are currently realizing the distant countries strategy with the aim of an 8,000-kilometer range. Our goal is to increase our country's share in exports fourfold to countries in distant geographies. Within this context, we will announce, over the next days, our action plan to raise our exports to USD 81.5 billion in 17 countries that account for 64 percent of the global economy."
President Erdoğan also announced that Türkiye's 12-month exports exceeded USD 200 billion for the first time, hitting a record USD 211 billion as of September 17.