The International Chamber of Commerce's executive board members met Thursday in Ankara, the Turkish capital, to discuss recent developments in the global economy.
The board members came to Turkey to hold their first convention of 2014 in the country. It was organized by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges.
At a press conference, Rifat Hisarciklioglu, president of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges, said international trade had been the locomotive of the world economy over the last 60 years.
"Global development will be continued by trade," he said.
"The global economy needs to invest more than $57 trillion in infrastructure by 2030," he said. "If precautions are not taken, nearly $20 trillion of the infrastructure investment cannot be carried out. The International Chamber of Commerce is finding some solutions for these types of problems."
Responding to a question by reporters regarding Standard & Poor's credit rating about Turkey, the chamber's president, Harold McGraw III, president and CEO of McGraw-Hill Financial, said Turkey's economy has been growing by approximately 5-6 percent in recent years. It is expected that Turkey will grow by 3.5 percent next year. McGraw-Hill owns the Standard & Poor's ratings agency.
"There are many countries want to be in Turkey's place with this growth rate," McGraw said. "People in credit agencies will look at what will affect this growth rate. Turkey is on the way to growth. Credit agencies will take this into consideration.”
Considering recent political developments in Turkey, McGraw said the Turkish people will decide what will be the political consequences of recent developments in the country.
“Businesses and governments need to work together, creating more jobs for youths. We need to expand prosperity all over the world,” he added.
The group of industrialists, financiers and traders was formed to bring economic prosperity to a world that was still reeling from the devastation of World War I. They founded the International Chamber of Commerce in 1919 and called themselves "the merchants of peace."
The original nucleus of businessmen from five countries has expanded to become a world business organization with hundreds of thousands of member companies in more than 180 countries. Members include leaders of many of the world's biggest multinationals as well as small- and medium-sized companies.
The U.N., the World Trade Organization and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through the chamber.
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