The IKV İstanbul EU Information Centre hosted a high-level roundtable meeting on 26 January 2026, bringing together business representatives to discuss regional connectivity under the European Commission's Global Gateway programme and within the scope of the Türkiye Investment Platform. The meeting was organised in partnership with the EU Directorate General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, the European Commission and TOBB.

The meeting, chaired by IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, commenced with opening remarks by Deputy Director General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs EU Directorate Serdar Öztürk, Director General at the Ministry of Treasury and Finance Kerem Dönmez, and Vice President of TOBB Tamer Kıran.

Following the opening speeches, Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission Gert Jan Koopman gave a presentation outlining the general framework of the meeting and moderated the sessions.

The first session of the meeting, entitled “Regional Transport Connectivity”, addressed topics such as the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, logistics processes, border crossings, digitalisation and infrastructure issues. The speakers at this session, which conveyed the private sector perspective, were Chairman of the Executive Board of UND Alper Özel, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Albayrak Holding Aziz Günaydın, Director of Public Relations at DHL Rıza Mehmet Korkmaz, General Manager of Customs and Tourism Enterprises Ahmet Gürlek, and Chief Technology Officer of Ericsson Oğuzhan Koca. The public sector's vision regarding sectoral assessments was shared by Director General of EU and Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Burak Aykan.

The second session of the meeting, titled “Regional Energy Connectivity”, discussed the development of electricity transmission infrastructure, the integration of renewable energy sources into the national grid, and the strengthening of connections with EU electricity grids. Speakers at this session included Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Türkiye Elisabetta Falcetti, TÜSİAD Energy Working Group Member and Borusan EnBW Energy Board Member Hüseyin Yeğin, Gesan/Europower Vice Chairman Ali Gökhan Öztürk, Sanko Energy Board Member Ziya Erdem, Enerjisa Energy Strategy Director Oğuzcan Samsun, and Nuh Çimento General Manager Halim Tekkeşin. The public sector assessments of the session were made by Director General of Energy, Environment and Transboundary Waters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Zafer Ateş, and Department Head at the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Engin Bostancı.

The meeting concluded with a closing session summarising the assessments and a networking dinner.