A regional summit of the World Chambers Federation (WFC), hosted by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), kicked off on Tuesday in the country's sprawling metropolis of Istanbul.
The World Chambers Federation’s first Europe and Asia regional summit is being held with the theme "A Collaborative Approach to Climate Action."
The event's focus is on providing information on the latest developments in climate change and raising awareness of the practices that chambers and the business community are implementing in response to climate risk considerations, including investment plans, corporate strategies and corporate social responsibilities, according to organizers.
Over 800 businesspeople from 62 countries are attending the two-day event, which brings together sector professionals, officials, experts and representatives from the private sector and institutions.
"Combating climate change is our main agenda at the Europe and Asia summit. At the summit, we emphasized that free and fair trade is our priority. We are very concerned about the rise of protectionism, which threatens global trade and businesses, especially SMEs," Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, the head of Türkiye's Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges and president of WCF, said in a post on X.
"Recent protectionist trends, especially in the field of technology, pose risks to global trade," he added.
Speaking at the event, he said: "We believe that the World Trade Organization (WTO) needs to be reformed so that global trade can remain fair and competitive."
Hisarcıklıoğlu said 75% of global trade is governed by WTO rules, which provide stability and predictability. "To meet the challenges of the 21st century, we must work together to preserve and improve these rules. The business world must actively support these changes," he stressed.
As part of his remarks, he pointed that Istanbul is one of the most important business centers in the world, connecting the continents.
He also highlighted the significance of the climate theme of the event, referring to the upcoming COP29 summit to be held in Azerbaijan, expressing the hope that the exchange of ideas and discussions would contribute to the global goals.
The event gathered top officials and representatives of other commerce chambers from the wider region, starting from Azerbaijan, Egypt to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum also attended the opening of the summit.
"I hope that our Europe and Asia summit will offer new opportunities to our businesspeople and lead to new projects," Hisarcıklıoğlu said.