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Local businessmen support Kurdish initiative
Many businessmen who have had to work far from their hometowns believe that the initiative is an important step in restoring peace and brotherhood in the region and that it will also boost the region's economy. Business people from the area also say they are ready to do their part in terms of investments as long as the period of peace is permanent.
Bedir Yılmaz, a Kurdish businessman from Siirt, expresses his sincerity in this regard: “I am even ready to lose money. I am ready to find five to 10 others who would be willing to share the costs. Ninety percent of the businesspeople I know would agree to this as long as an environment of confidence prevails in the region. Forget about the money. What is important is that this pain ends.”
Yılmaz also said he couldn't understand the opponents of this project. “I don't understand if they are doing this because it would mean they would lose their living. But we are ready to invest in all provinces of the area once peace and confidence is established in the region,” Yılmaz noted.
Cahit Erbalcı, head of the Federation of Southeastern Industrialists and Businessmen (GÜNSİAF), says the region will receive important investments with the unfolding of the government's Kurdish initiative. Pointing out the fact that there are good opportunities in the East and the Southeast for meat and dairy investments, Erbalcı also noted that Siirt has a significant supply of raw materials for cement and is also a promising region for animal husbandry. Labor-intensive sectors, given the area's higher population density, also have good investment potential. Selami Memiş, head of the executive board of the Tat Group said: “It is a positive step. After trust and peace is established in the region, we are ready to invest in the provinces of the area as long as the conditions necessary for trade and industry are there. I think labor-intensive segments are a good area for investment.”
Erbalcı also said the government's initiative should have been carried out earlier, but added that as a business owner, he was ready to support any investment in the region.
Nejat Koçer, head of the Gaziantep Chamber of Industry, says economic and social projects will undoubtedly bring along important results in the long term. However, the silencing of guns is a precondition for investment, Koçer added. “Every step in this direction will help. No solution is not a solution. But it is important that everybody, all sides, take steps in this regard.”
Şanlıurfa Chamber of Commerce head Sabri Ertekin agreed, saying: “This initiative has given hope to the region's residents. It has also given hope to businessmen and investors.”
The initiative could also be important for the long-standing and incomplete Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). Osman Baysal, deputy chairman of the Şanlurfa Chamber of Commerce, said: “This [Kurdish] initiative is also a scheme for boosting regional development. GAP will now stand on firmer ground with the Kurdish initiative, which will also be a strategy for employment, industry and production.”
Gaziantep Free Industrialists and Businessmen's Association head Mehmet Taşdemir agreed that as long as there is peace, private sector investments in the region will rise. However, he warned: “One should not expect to see investments immediately. Serious investment can only come with time.”
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