2nd International Turkish Asian Congress

The 2nd International Turkish Asian Congress was held on 23-25 May 2007 in Istanbul. The invitation from Tasem was made through email from the organizer about 4 weeks before the event. I was requested to present a paper on something that was not quiet my cup of tea – a economic theme. Upon inquiry that no other Malaysian was invited I felt compelled to accept the invitation and worked on a presentation entitled “Investment Opportunities and Facilities in Malaysia” Much of it was adapted from MIDA refreshingly very helpful articles on the subject provided by my neighbour’s daughter who work at MIDA.

Turkey and Malaysia are, perhaps, the only Muslim Majority states today that could be regarded as relatively successful in both economic and political terms. Many see them as the only "Islamic" models worth looking at. Today Turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world with a GNP exceeding $350 billion. Our trade volume has surpassed $190 billion and there were 22 million tourists in 2005. In the same year, the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey was several times larger than the total for foreign investments over the last decades. As a matter of fact, Turkey has grown by no less than 30 percent during the past four years.”

Likewise, Malaysia too has performed well on the economic front. Malaysia retained its position as the 19th largest exporting country, according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s International Trade Report for 2006.Malaysia’s merchandise export grew at an annual rate of 14% in 2006 to reach US$161 billion (RM555.4 billion) and accounting for 1.2% of the total global exports.

This third trip to Istanbul I was accompanied by M and daughter Ayu. With Ayu’s more adventurous traits we explore more areas that I had not been on our two previous visit. And more shopping too. Some of the photos are reproduced here.