They say, “He who does not take risks will not suffer from defeat, but he will not achieve victory either.”
Our country is destined to achieve great success as long as it uses its unique geographical location and geopolitical importance rationally. Especially the war between Russia and Ukraine has shown us this abundantly. The humane attitude of our people and therefore our state made itself felt in every sense, and all efforts were made to end the war. Bringing the Russian and Ukrainian parties together in Istanbul is a great success in this sense. Keeping communication channels always open with both warring countries in the subsequent period is a valuable sacrifice and success that has gone down in history. Perhaps, the grain corridor project that prevented the world food crisis was also realized thanks to Turkey, and this important initiative and sincere effort received countless appreciations from all over the world, especially the United Nations. Finally, the role played by our country in the prisoner exchange was once again applauded, and Turkey’s sensitive, peace-oriented attitude on this issue was praised by the world public opinion.
While all these peace-oriented initiatives produce results that should be honored for our country, we, as LASİAD, have tried to fulfill our duty by paying attention to our duty, and we continue to do so. Hosting our Ukrainian and Russian visitors in our hotels in Laleli, free of charge, is an important sign to reveal our stance and awareness of duty on this issue. We have always been on the side of peace and humanity. We have always taken care to be complementary to our country’s strategic moves. While producing economic and social activities, as an NGO active in international relations, we have always strived to further our country’s global policies. As LASİAD, the only non-governmental organization representing Laleli, we were aware of our responsibility and tried to keep our region alive and proactive in every sense. While Russia and Ukraine, our two most important markets, are at war with each other, we focused on the gains we could achieve for our country, instead of playing a role in the disaster-mongering efforts. Considering that crises also bring opportunities, we focused on establishing maximum commercial cooperation with our international stakeholders without deviating from peace, ethical and humanitarian values. Instead of complaining and whining, we focused on current situation analysis, future projections, goals and ensuring rapid information flow. We transferred the information we obtained from abroad and first-hand to our region in the most accurate and fluent manner, and acted as a crisis management center during the difficult process. We communicated at the maximum level with both local and global press and public institutions and organizations in order to ensure that our region’s trade was not disrupted during the most painful periods and that logistics and financial resources operated in the most optimal way possible. We have continuously taken initiatives to ensure that not even a single business operating in our region is negatively affected by this situation. As LASİAD, we have made great efforts in coordination with our country’s foreign policies to ensure that Laleli’s development over the years is not interrupted. We successfully implemented our 9th Laleli Fashion Shopping Festival program, which we took a break during the pandemic period in order to keep the energy and motivation of our region high.
Of course, these projects and applications that require great effort and time have a purpose. Let our country produce more, export more, increase tourism income while hosting more tourists, and ultimately, while our country’s brand value increases, our country will achieve the prosperity it aims for. This principle lies at the basis of all this cause and our determination. Developed Türkiye, growing in prosperity in every sense.
On this occasion, I congratulate your 29 October Republic Day and offer my respects with the hope that peace will reign in our country and the world.
Giyasettin Eyyüpkoca
