ITALY’S CONSUL GENERAL IN ISTANBUL VISITED IKV

Italy’s newly appointed Consul General in Istanbul Federica Ferrari Bravo paid a visit on the 10^th November 2014 to IKV Chairman Ömer Cihad Vardan and IKV Vice Chairwoman, President of the Assembly of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and DEIK’s Turkish-Italian Business Council President Zeynep Bodur Okyay. Commercial Attaché Maria Trinchieri, Financial Attaché Giorgio Merlonghi andItalian Trade Agency Director Ferdinando Pastore also accompanied her Excellency the Consul General of Italy.

At the meeting, the Consul General has been given information about IKV’s structure, objectives and activities. IKV Chairman Ömer Cihad Vardan also shared the latest developments on Turkey’s EU accession process and underlined the potential gains of Turkey’s EU membership for the EU. He also drew the attention to the problems related to the Customs Union, the ongoing negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and the USA and the visa liberalisation dialogue.

IKV Chairman Vardan explained that Turkey’s accession to the EU as a country with a Muslim majority who shares common values with the EU will constitute an important message worldwide of peace and stability.

IKV Vice Chairman, DEIK Executive Board Member and Turkish-Italian Business Council Chairman Zeynep Bodur Okyay gave detailed information on bilateral relations between Turkey and Italy. She stressed the fact that since both countries share common values this facilitates the development of cooperation between the two countries.

Vardan and Okyay emphasized that Italy has always been one of Turkey’s closest partners within the EU and that there is a need to strengthen this partnership with joint projects and investments as well as this cooperation with third countries.

Along Ömer Cihad Vardan and Zeynep Bodur Okyay, DEIK’s Turkish-Angolan Business Council Chairman Burak Vardan, IKV Secretary General Çiğdem Nas, IKV Deputy Secretary General Melih Özsöz and DEIK’s European Business Councils Coordinator Ayşegül Gök Arıcan participated also in the meeting.