93rd İzmir International Fair brought Turkey together.

The İzmir International Fair (IEF), which started Turkey’s fair adventure and has achieved many firsts, opened its doors for the 93rd time. Following the opening ceremony held yesterday, a reception was also organized today at the Atatürk Open-Air Theatre in Kültürpark.
The İzmir International Fair (IEF) opened its doors for the 93rd time, and following the opening ceremony held yesterday, a reception was held today at the Atatürk Open-Air Theatre in Kültürpark. The 93rd İzmir International Fair, held with the theme of “technology” between August 30 and September 9, has Istanbul as the guest of honor and Cuba as the special guest. The reception hosted by Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Cemil Tugay and his wife Öznur Tugay was attended by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Deputy Minister of Commerce Özgür Volkan Ağar, İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban, Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Deputy Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly Ahmet Fikret Kileci, Deputy Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and Chairman of the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry Ender Yorgancılar, Chairman of the İzmir Chamber of Commerce Mahmut Özgener, Coordinator Chairman of the Aegean Exporters Associations Jak Eskinazi, Chairman of Folkart, the main sponsor of IEF, Mesut Sancak, members of parliament from CHP and AK Party, ambassadors, consuls general, representatives of political parties, deputy governors, district governors, council members, representatives of civil society organizations, chambers, association presidents, district mayors, foreign mission representatives, muhtars, and citizens. The reception began with an electric violin concert by İnci Yelkenbiçer Omek, whose performance received great applause.

Robot Sophia back on stage: “Without the warmth of the human spirit, it cannot be done”
As a surprise guest at the İzmir International Fair, robot Sophia took the stage yesterday and also met with the protocol at the reception. Robot Sophia stated that the İzmir International Fair is a fair where steps towards the future begin and said, “No matter how much technology advances, without the warmth of the human spirit, these innovations have no meaning.”

“I find it extremely meaningful that it coincides with Victory Week”
Starting his speech by expressing that the İzmir Economic Congress is very important to him, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said, “I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the İzmir International Fair, which holds an important place in the cultural and commercial memory of our İzmir, and has been held for the 93rd time with a century-old history. I express my gratitude to the Metropolitan Mayor, sponsors, and everyone who contributed. I find it extremely meaningful that the fair, inherited from Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, coincides with the Victory Week, where we respectfully commemorate Gazi Mustafa Kemal and his comrades. Right now, we are in the upper-middle-income league. Our goal is to transition to the high-income countries league. We will achieve this through technological investments and by building a high value-added economy. I would like to state that I find it very meaningful that the theme of this year’s İzmir International Fair is determined as technology. We trust and believe in our youth. As long as our young people are supported in these areas, Turkey and the youth have a very bright future ahead,” he said.

“It contributes to the rooting of international fairs in our country”
İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban stated, “101 years ago, the foundation of this beautiful fair was laid with the extraordinary vision and worldview of Beautiful Atatürk. Since that day, this fair has developed and become synonymous with both our beautiful İzmir and Turkey. This fair makes significant contributions to the development of fairs in Turkey and helps to root international fairs in our country. I thank you for not leaving us alone at such a beautiful and important fair, the 93rd fair with the theme of technology.”

“We found it very appropriate for the theme to be technology”
Deputy Minister of Commerce Özgür Volkan Ağar said, “As the Ministry of Commerce, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the organization of this fair, which is organized better and stronger every year. Considering the importance of technological developments that infiltrate every area of our lives, we found it very appropriate for the theme of the İzmir International Fair to be determined as technology.”

“We work to carry this legacy with pride and success”
Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Cemil Tugay stated that hundreds of companies from 14 countries and 53 cities in Turkey participated in the 93rd IEF and said that the name of IEF has become synonymous with İzmir. Tugay said, “IEF has a history of nearly 100 years. It is an honor for us to host such a strong event. As the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality family and as İzmir, we are working to carry this legacy with pride and success. I hope we will do our part by listening to the voices of our people who say, ‘Make the İzmir Fair return to its former glory, Mayor.’ We will continue to work hard for an even stronger fair every year.”

“We believe it will guide us”
Recalling that they chose technology as a theme, Tugay stated, “We are trying to express that we want solutions to the problems of the future. This is the feeling that awakens within us whenever the word technology is mentioned. We are living in a time overwhelmed by problems. Regarding these, we believe that our civilization, knowledge, intellect, and the science we possess will guide us. The more we implement the technology that is the product of that knowledge, the more problems we will solve. We want more knowledge, science, and technology. At the same time, we believe it should also multiply through sharing. For this reason, we signed a cooperation protocol between our İzmir Innovation and Technology Company with Ekrem İmamoğlu and Istanbul’s ISBAK company. We hope this will serve as an example for all our municipalities. As the President of the Union of Turkish Municipalities, Ekrem Bey has always told us that he is open to cooperation in every field. The fact that this has been materialized with a protocol has been a source of pride.”

“We are ready to do our part without any distinction”
Emphasizing the importance of the İzmir Fair, Mayor Tugay said, “The İzmir Fair is a reflection of not just İzmir, but all of the Republic of Turkey’s economic movement. Therefore, it is very important. We all have important responsibilities to support it. We wholeheartedly believe that our Turkey will overcome all its problems in the coming years in true unity and solidarity. As the children of this country, we are ready to do our part without any distinction.”

Turkey Union of Municipalities President and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who stated that he visited the İzmir International Fair during his childhood and shared his memory of visiting the fair while attending handball finals in elementary school, talked about the work they are doing in the field of technology. İmamoğlu said, “It is truly inspiring that an organization born under the conditions of a century ago has created its own tradition. Being hosted as the guest of honor with our Istanbul at the IEF is very valuable for us. We are represented by different institutions and organizations. We definitely expect you at our stand. Our cities are very important; when we experience the good practices developed for their own sake, and when we gain happiness from the happiness of people, it is very valuable to share these with other cities.”

“We want to be the ones who guide technology”
Deputy Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly Ahmet Fikret Kileci stated, “Izmir is a very important city for Turkey. It is a city where very important jobs are done, and it needs to reach different places. As exporters, we place much more importance on this region. The İzmir Fair is one of the oldest and most important fairs in Turkey. Today, it is very different. We have reached a point where artificial intelligence, the digital world, and every type of information can be analyzed much more easily and correctly, shedding serious light on the jobs we will do. We need to evaluate this very well. Many things related to technology will be presented at the fair. We need to be involved with them. If we resist technology and transformation, we will be left out of the game. We do not want to be left out of the game; we want to be right in the middle, even to lead it.”

Yorgancılar: IEF is one of the oldest international commercial platforms in the world
Ender Yorgancılar, Deputy Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and Chairman of the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry, said, “The İzmir International Fair, which has witnessed the history of both İzmir and our country, is not only one of the oldest international commercial platforms in our country but also in the world. This fair, whose foundations were laid with the İzmir Economic Congress, is an important step in our history, culture, and a source of pride for our future. Our fair is part of a success story that has continued for 93 years and has been a pioneer of many specialized fairs. This year’s main theme, technology, continues to shape the future in every sense.”

Family photo taken
The reception ended with the protocol taking a family photo as a memento of the 93rd IEF. After the reception, İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Cemil Tugay and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu participated in the horon performance of the folk dance team of Bornova Municipality and danced horon.