Turkey. Economic integration in Europe and in the Mediterranean

2^nd International Conference “Turkey Phenomenon”

12 June 2012, UniCredit Conference Hall, Milan

The conference focused on the economic aspects of the country, and it was divided into two roundtables. In the first one, the relations between Turkey and Europe in terms of economic interdependence were discussed, also analysing the integration dynamics that had been developing on the ground – which are considerably deeper and at a far more advanced stag than the institutional ones.

The second roundtable dealt with Turkey’s Mediterranean projection, where Turkish influence and economic penetration had become increasingly manifest and tangible.

The conference was promoted by CIPMO in collaboration with UniCredit and Promos – Milan Chamber of Commerce, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – Analysis, Programming Statistical and Historic Documentation Unit, and of the European Commission’s Representation in Milan.

Speakers:

Hakki Akil, Turkish Ambassador to Italy; Zeynap Bodur Okyay, President of the Board of Directors of Kale Group and President of the Turkey-Italy Business Council; Bruno Ermolli, President of Promos – Milan Chamber of Commerce; Pasquale Forte, CEO of Eldor Corporation; Zenyep Karahan Uslu, Associate Professor and member of the Turkish Parliament; Aldo Kaslowski, Honorary President of TÜSIAD International and President of Organik Holding A.S.; Mesbah Kotb, editor-in-chief for economic issues of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm; Adem Kumcu, President of UNITEE – European-Turkish Business Confederation; Zuhal Mansfield, CEO of TMG Mining and Manufacturing and Mansfield Mining Ltd., and President of the Turkish-Egyptian Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey; Carlo Marsili, former Italian Ambassador to Turkey (2004-2010) and scientific coordinator of the project “Turkey Phenomenon”; Alberto Negri, special correspondent for Il Sole 24 Ore; Janiki Cingoli, President of the Italian Center for Peace in the Middle East (CIPMO); Roberto Nicastro, Director General of UniCredit; Murat Yetkin, Editor-in-chief for the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet; Franco Zallio, Senior consultant for the Mediterranean and the Middle East; Paolo Zegna, Vice President for industrialisation at Confindustria and President of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group.

The four conferences held in the framework of the project “Turkey Phenomenon”, in collaboration with UniCredit, aimed at analysing in depth different economic, social and international aspects of Turkey’s policies. However, growing authoritarianism and signals of an economic crisis that would burst in the following years could hardly be foreseen at that stage (with the partial exception of the 2014 conference). The comments describing the aims of the initiative obviously reflect the context in which they were written.