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G
aziantep has always had played a
unique role ever since its foundation.
Being a major center of trade since ancient
history and also located on the historical Silk
Road, the city has hosted many civilizations
throughout history. With its developed in-
dustrial and trade infrastructure, the city is,
and has always been, a driving force behind
the Turkish economy. According to 2014
data, Gaziantep is the 6th largest city in Tur-
key and holds a share of 2.3% inTurkey’s total
business volume. The city’s foreign trade vo-
lume has grown 235-fold in the last decade,
helping the city turn into an economy with
trade surplus. The city boasts a share of 4.7%
inTurkey’s total exports, with exports per ca-
pita standing at USD 3.274. Turkey’s average
exports per capita is USD 1.828.
Gaziantep:
Driving force
behind Turkish economy
TOBB calls for logistics
collaboration with Greece
A
gala dinner for Turkish and Greek
friendship was held by The Union
of Chambers and Commodity Exchan-
ges of Turkey (TOBB) and İzmir Chamber
of Commerce at Hilton Hotel. Turkish
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was
among the participants. Halim Mete,
Vice President of TOBB, called for a
logistics collaboration with Greece by
addressing Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras.
Mete says, “We can modernize and
operate the Greek Customs Office of
Kipi by using a Build-Operate-Transfer
model, just as we did at the Customs
Office of İpsala located just opposite
Kipi.”