The Union of Azerbaijani Businessmen in Turkey (Türkiye’deki Azerbaycanlı IşAdamları Birliği) was established in 2012 by a group of Azerbaijani businessmen with a main objective to promote and support the interests and objectives of Azerbaijani businesses operating in Turkey. Since then, the group has grown to include a broad range of select companies and businesses including textiles, shipping, pharmaceuticals, logistics, agriculture, hospitality and finance among others.
Following the General Assembly meeting realized in July, we elected a new Board of Directors for a two-year period. The Board is comprised of international business leaders across a broad range of industries and include Neslihan Tombul, President, Elshan Guliyev, Co-Vice President, Nurlan Yusifov, Co-Vice President, Yegane Malkoç, Member and Ural Aküzüm, Member. The Board comes equipped with vast business experience, a strong international network and a bold strategic vision for our Union.
TAIB is a young but eager organization with high expectations and ambitious objectives. Committed to serving its members, the board aims to usher in a new era of growth and impact over the medium term. With our newly declared mission-vision statement and an extensive array of programs and activities planned over the next 18 months, we aim to expand our membership base to include 50 new high profile Azerbaijani companies.
Our mission-vision statement was written to inspire and motivate our current and future members and reads as follows:
“TAIB members are entrepreneurs, investors, industrialists and senior executives of Azerbaijani heritage and those passionate about Azerbaijan and our aim is to strengthen the social, cultural, commercial and economic ties between our two great nations. Acting as a bridge, we aim to create genuine economic prosperity as we identify new commercial opportunities for our members, expand our business volumes, diversify our access to financial resources, deepen our network and showcase Azerbaijan’s economic strength and vigor in Turkey. Our members are principled leaders, distinguished global thinkers, inclusive, successful, committed to strong personal values and persons of high integrity. Acting in unity and harmony, we aim to heighten and amplify our presence in Turkey and create a world class NGO, placing TAIB among the best in class.”
All Azerbaijani companies who share our passion and mission are welcome to join us on our journey.
We are naturally grateful to all our members and supporters for entrusting us with this all-important mission. In line with our vision, we are currently building a solid foundation from which to reinvigorate the Union and allow for healthy growth and expansion in the years to come. We are reorganizing and digitizing our infrastructure to improve the lines of communication both inside and outside the group. To begin with, we created 4 new Committees, each headed by one of our distinguished Board Members including: New Membership Development, Membership Relations and Business Development, Outreach and Foreign Economic Relations and Media and Corporate Communications. We then created a 4-Pronged Strategic Development Plan which will focus on Committee objectives and include: (a) Organizational Structure (b) Outreach and Communications (c) Events, Activities and Programs, and (d) New Membership Development. Once fully functional, we will witness the rise of a dynamic and effective Union, serving the needs of its members and fueling a stronger Union.
Our bold, “one nation, two state” proclamation has augured well for the union and integration of our two great countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President İlham Aliyev have forged a steadfast and trustworthy bond of friendship and brotherhood which now serves as the foundation for a long-term fruitful alliance on many different levels. As the business community, we stand united behind this galvanizing motto and hope to strengthen this special relationship as we seek to create new projects and opportunities across all industries. Current commercial values between our countries, although growing, is somewhat lackluster if not for oil and gas trading and it is here that we plan to focus our efforts to build our commercial network and further the two-way trade and investment between our countries.
Naturally, the recent liberation of Karabağ from enemy forces offers us a grand opportunity to redesign, rebuild and restore our precious Karabağ to its’ former glory and beyond to new heights. Surely, Karabağ’s reconstruction represents yet another range of commercial opportunities to develop. For this purpose, we are planning a visit to Baku and Karabağ later this year to hold talks, initiate contact with the local business community and identify commercial prospects to undertake and develop.
Personally, I am honored and very excited to be serving as TAIB’s first woman President. My esteemed board members and I are looking forward to a productive and impactful term in office, one that will serve our members, communities and countries well. Having been reared and educated in the United States, and served on numerous civic organizations, I’m a big believer in the power of NGO’s for they are an indispensable pillar which support civil and democratic societies in pursuit of economic growth and development. Often times, NGO collaboration with the public and private sector reinforces economic prosperity and social cohesiveness, making for a stronger nation to be respected and admired, both at home and abroad. I’m inspired and encouraged by the support we have received from our members and patrons and we pledge to work hard in the spirit of harmony, solidarity and fellowship to produce win-win results for the mutual benefit of Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Neslihan Tombul
Email: neslihan.tombul@taib.org.tr
Website: www.taib.org.tr
