Izmir International Fair, which was held for the 90th time this year, opened its doors. Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer, “In the words of our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk; Izmir International Fair was established to realize Turkey's future plans. The range of our meeting is not limited to the borders of İzmir. The International Fair, which has been shaping Turkey's future for ninety years, once again connects our country and the world in İzmir.”
The fair will host its visitors with concerts, theater, cinema screenings, sports and entertaining events until September 12.
Izmir International Fair (IEF) opened its doors for the 90th time with a ceremony held at the Kulturpark Open Air Theatre. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor attended the opening ceremony. Tunç Soyer and his wife Neptün Soyer, Minister of Commerce Dr. Mehmet Muş, Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party Muharrem Erkek, Izmir Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger, Izmir Police Chief Mehmet Şahne, Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor Kamil Erkut Güre, Turkish Exporters Assembly President İsmail Gülle, TOBB Board Member and Izmir Chamber of Commerce President Mahmut Özgener, CHP Party Assembly Member and İzmir Deputy Ednan Arslan, CHP PM Member Rıfat Nalbantoğlu, CHP İzmir Deputies Bedri Serter, Murat Minister, Kani Beko, Sevda Erdan Kılıç, Kamil Okyay Sındır, AK Party Deputy Chairman and İzmir Deputy Hamza Dağ, AK Party İzmir Deputies Mahmut Atilla Kaya, Yaşar Kırkpınar, Necip Nasır, district mayors, IYI Party Group Deputy Chairman and İzmir Deputy Musavat Dervişoğlu, CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Deniz Yücel, IYI Party İzmir Provincial Chairman Hüsmen Kırkpınar, AK Party İzmir Provincial Chairman Kerem Ali Continuous, MHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Veysel Şahin, İzmir Chamber of Craftsmen and Craftsmen Union President Zekeriya Mutlu, İzmir Chamber of Commerce M.P. Committee Chairman Selami Özpoyraz, IEF Main Sponsor Folkart A.Ş. Chairman of the Board of Directors Mesut Sancak and guests attended.
“We are proud”
In his opening speech, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor mentioned that İzmir International Fair is one of the most rooted values of the Republic. Tunç Soyer, “In the own words of our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk; Izmir International Fair was established to realize Turkey's future plans. Therefore, the range of our meeting tonight is not limited to the borders of İzmir. The International Fair, which has been shaping Turkey's future for ninety years, once again connects our country and the world in İzmir. It comes to life in Kültürpark, which Behçet Uz brought to İzmir and which we protect like our eyes. I am proud and happy to be with you at the ninetieth opening of IEF”.
IEF is as real as life
Pointing out that the fair has seen countless innovations and global crises throughout its life span of nearly a century, Soyer continued his speech as follows: “February 17, 1923. The Republic had not been declared yet. The Izmir Economy Congress was convened and the foundations of the Turkish economy were built in Izmir. The year is 1943. The Second World War was wreaking havoc on humanity. İzmir's Fair opened its doors that year as well. Izmir did the almost impossible thing to do and brought the warring states side by side. In the 1960s and 70s, the world was experiencing a cold war. In Izmir, children could go from the US pavilion to the red-starred Soviet pavilion with cotton candy in their hands. These old trees of Kulturpark and the sky above them embraced the world's most exciting discoveries and saddest moments at the same time. Mankind walked on the moon, there were information revolutions. The Berlin wall fell. The Soviet Union disintegrated. The German Mark is obsolete. Economic depressions came one after another. The Beatles and the 68 generation shook the world; economic depressions came one after another. İzmir International Fair is still standing despite all this. Far from disappearing, our fair has become a mirror that never gets old. Whatever is going on in the world continues to reflect what is happening in Izmir and Turkey, and what is happening in our country to the world for 90 years. Perhaps this is what made İzmir International Fair one of the most valuable global brands created by the Republic. To be as real as life.”
Our duty is to make IEF a world brand
Saying that IEF is not an event, but a cultural heritage of the city, Soyer said, “IEF is not just an event, it is a cultural heritage of our city. Just like EXPO, it is an international fair brand. That's why we can't just keep up with the IEF tradition. It is our primary duty to make IEF a world brand as it deserves. It is not a coincidence that the tradition of IEF was born in Izmir and has been living for 90 years. Throughout its history, İzmir has been a pioneering commercial and cultural port that established and expanded Anatolia's ties to the world. It has evolved and changed thanks to the strong ties it has with the world. He developed and transformed himself, but that was not enough. He described the horizon line of the Mediterranean and Turkey. It can also be said: İzmir's footprint in the world has been greater than İzmir's geography. The reason why Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk chose İzmir to hold the Economics Congress, where the foundations of the İzmir International Fair were laid, is due to the deep-rooted history of our city.
We will also host the World Union of Municipalities Cultural Summit.
Emphasizing the importance of the İzmir Business Days, which they organized for the seventh time this year, together with the İzmir International Fair, President Soyer continued as follows: “This year, we are organizing an important global event together with İzmir International Fair for the first time. By hosting the World Union of Municipalities Cultural Summit next week, we will host the mayors and cultural representatives of the world's leading cities. At the summit, we will discuss how we can use culture as a common value as a lever for both economic development and a life in harmony with nature.”
Art and sport
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer, said that another innovation at IEF is sports, that they will organize sports activities alongside art for the first time, and that the Next Game Entrepreneurship Competition within the scope of IEF will make a significant contribution to making İzmir a center of attraction for creative industries.
65 countries are participating
Emphasizing that Izmir is a city of democracy and freedoms, Mayor Soyer concluded his speech as follows: “Izmir is a city of freedoms. Our city is, on the one hand, the Amazon woman who rebelled against injustice. It is ephedra. On the other hand, it is an assembly that embraces different cultures and ideas. It is a people's assembly. This spirit of İzmir and our fair that unites everyone, its power to bring differences together has never changed. Organized even during the days of the Second World War, İzmir International Fair is opening its doors by uniting us all this year. This year, 65 countries are participating in the Culture Summit and the ninetieth IEF, which we organized by considering all the measures against the pandemic. Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Behçet Uz, and Reşat Leblebicioğlu, who made the fair live after him, Hulusi Naci Selek, Rauf Onursal, Selahattin Akçiçek, Enver Dündar, Faruk Tunca, Sefa Poyraz, Burhanettin Uluç, Enver Saatçigil, Rebii Başol, Osman Kibar, İhsan Alyanak, Cahit Günay, Ceyhan Demir, Burhan Özfatura, Yüksel Çakmur, Ahmet I commemorate Piriştina and Aziz Kocaoğlu with gratitude and respect. I would like to express my gratitude to the Honorable Minister of Commerce, the Deputy Chairman of the CHP and all our guests, who have been a source of honor for us by joining us today. I would like to thank all the organizations and my teammates who contributed. We have been building the future together in the Fair, which we have been continuing with excitement for 90 years, here in İzmir for 90 years. I greet you all with my most sincere love and respect, by embracing each other and raising our common hope for better days to come”.
Özgener: “Our duty is to keep the fair alive and glorify it”
TOBB Board Member and İzmir Chamber of Commerce President Mahmut Özgener emphasized that IEF, whose foundations were laid by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk at the 1st Economics Congress, has become Turkey's gateway to the world. Özgener emphasized that the fair fulfilled its mission of being a light to the future and that it is a world brand as the most important organization of the country. Özgener also noted that it is very valuable that the fair will host the World Union of Municipalities Cultural Summit this year. Özgener said, “The fair is the most important value that our Republic has brought to our city. It is our duty to keep it alive and glorify it.”
Gülle: “It is not a coincidence that IEF is in İzmir”
İsmail Gülle, President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, said, “We missed the physical fairs that we could not hold for a long time due to the pandemic. Fair organization is a very rooted and old tradition in İzmir. These lands, which have a trade fair perspective from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic with thousands of years of trade history, have become a very important city preferred by traders as a port city. This tradition continues, İzmir contributes significantly to our exports. In the first seven months of the year, İzmir became the second most exporting province with its exports exceeding 8 billion dollars.” İsmail Gülle stated that it was not a coincidence that Turkey's first Economics Congress was held in İzmir in 1923 before the establishment of the Republic, and that the first international fair center was put into practice in İzmir, and continued his words as follows: “Fairs are the exporter's window to the world. Working together, producing and exporting, we will bring our country to the level of prosperous countries together.”
Male: “Together we will build the future”
CHP Deputy Chairman Muharrem Erkek stated that he had the opportunity to get to know the world culture at the fair, which he frequently visited during his childhood and youth, and said, “IEF has a very valuable meaning beyond being a fair. It bears the traces of our republic. We are proud to witness a tremendous history tonight. The foundation of IEF is based on the Izmir Economy Congress. Besides our political independence, the fair is the cornerstone of our economic independence. Today, it organizes very large specialized fairs in its field in the world. I would like to thank everyone who contributed. I commemorate with gratitude the mayors who made us feel this pride. Our President Tunç SoyerThank you and your team. Izmir will spend a wonderful ten days. As the slogan says, we will build the future together in peace.”
Köşger: "İEF is the lifeblood of İzmir and the Aegean"
İzmir Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger stated that they were excited to open the doors to the world for the 90th time by İEF, which is identified with the city, and said, “I hope that İEF, which has an indisputable place in İzmir's being called a city of commerce, technology, culture and tourism, will be beneficial for our city and our country. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the organization of this fair, which also proved the success of İzmir and our country in the field of fairs. The place of promotion and communication in international trade is undeniable. One of the best instruments to achieve this is fairs. IEF, where communication and promotion can be made at the same time, is the lifeblood of Izmir and the Aegean.” Köşger also mentioned the importance of the İzmir Culture Summit to be held simultaneously with the IEF and said, “I hope that the Culture Summit, where good practices are shared and encouraged around the world in making local cultural policies sustainable, will be fruitful.”
Minister Muş: “We are working to carry the 90-year heritage to the future”
Trade Minister Dr. Mehmet Muş stated that İzmir, the pearl of the Aegean with its cultural heritage, tourism potential and natural beauties, is the symbol city of our war of independence and the national struggle movement led by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Reminding that İzmir hosts the local and national Economics Congress, Muş said, “Because it is the place where the economic independence and economic foundations of our country were laid, it has a special place in our hearts. The Domestic Goods Exhibition, which was opened together with the Economics Congress, established the first steps of IEF. This fair, which is of great importance for our trade and brings the firsts to our country, has been going on for 90 years in Izmir. That's why we work in close cooperation with our friends from all over the world to pass on this heritage to future generations.”
Green Deal action plan goes live
Stating that they could not host international official representatives at İzmir Business Days this year due to the pandemic, but they organized the programs in a virtual environment, Muş stated that they organized many sessions with rich content and hosted ministers and deputy ministers from various countries during the online opening. Referring to the disasters affecting the whole world, Muş said, "These disasters show that human beings should act together with nature, not against nature."
Tepecik Philharmonic Orchestra gave a concert
At the opening of the fair, the Tepecik Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hamdi Akatay, gave a concert. Chief Hamdi Akatay said, “Our President, the elder brother of those in the back row. Tunç SoyerWe thank him for giving us this opportunity.” After the ribbon cutting ceremony, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyervisited the fair with the guests.
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