Deputy Minister of Trade Mahmut Gürcan: Our construction firms have undertaken projects worth 492.6 billion dollars in 135 countries to date

Organized by TÜRAP and TurabExpo, the 9th Turkish-Arab Building-Construction Materials and Technologies, Interior Design, Furniture Fair and Cooperation Organization, and the 6th Turkish-Arab Real Estate, Project, Investment, Finance Fair and Cooperation Organization are being held simultaneously on December 20-21 at the Pullman Istanbul Airport and Convention Center.

Speaking at the fair, Gürcan said that Turkish construction firms, with their human capital, technical expertise, adaptation to technology, and discipline, are performing highly regarded work in brotherly geographies with which Turkey has cultural ties.

Gürcan stated, "In addition to this, real estate activities account for 3.7 percent of the gross domestic product. To date, projects worth 492.6 billion dollars have been undertaken and completed by our construction firms in 135 countries."

Noting that the construction sector stands out as a sector that touches every aspect of human life, from massive infrastructure projects to airports, hospitals, schools, and of course, warm homes, he said, "With its feature of affecting many production and employment processes that concern many professional groups and activating the sub-sectors connected to it, the locomotive sector is accepted as a sponge sector due to its ability to create large-scale employment. The Turkish construction sector hosts an intensive workforce due to the production of various goods and services."

Gürcan continued as follows:

"Turkey is among the world's leading countries in the production and export of basic building materials; it stands out internationally with its price and quality in products such as cement, construction steel, iron and steel components, plastic and aluminum construction materials, ceramics, marble, glass, paint, electrical materials, and heating and cooling equipment. At this point, we cannot pass without mentioning our Turkish international contracting and technical consultancy sector, which has undertaken 11 thousand 901 projects in friendly and brotherly countries since 1972 and completed them with flying colors. According to 2022 data, the Turkish construction sector accounts for 4.9 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP). The sector's share in employment is around 6 percent."

"We are paying a heavy price for our freedom and independence"

Palestinian Ambassador to Ankara Dr. Faed Mustafa underscored that Israel's attacks continue by land, air, and sea.

Stating, "Israel's targets are homes, hospitals, mosques, infrastructure, innocent people, and trees. Every living thing is being destroyed, and the world has never seen anything like this before," Mustafa drew attention to the following:

"We support the resistance of the Palestinian people with all our might. God willing, we will meet at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Jerusalem is the city of prophets; Jerusalem is a trust for us. Therefore, we will never let it go, and we will never forget it. We are paying a heavy price for our freedom and independence. We will never falter. We will not surrender, and no matter how much time passes, everything remains vivid in our minds. We will never, under any circumstances, forget. We will never forgive those who oppress us. We will never forget the tyrants who destroyed our dreams. We will never forget those who remained spectators to our current situation. We express our deepest gratitude to the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the Turkish people for standing by us and supporting our people."

Sabuhi Attar, Chairman of the Turkish and Arab Countries Cooperation Association (TÜRAP), also said, "We aim to bring Arab business people to Turkey with trade delegations."

Underlining that thanks to this fair, they will bring the construction sector together with Arab investors without intermediaries, Attar stated, "We are doing a very good organizational work on this matter. In this sense, we have signed off on 20 organizations. This year, we will carry out our 21st organization. We are signing off on a very important fair regarding building construction materials."

News Source: 12punto