Anadolu sees contributing to the strengthening of city brands as an important responsibility, said the CEO of Türkiye's global news agency on Tuesday.
Speaking at the opening of the Anadolu's City Economies Summit in Türkiye's southeastern Gaziantep province, Serdar Karagoz said the event brought together stakeholders to discuss renewed economic ties between Türkiye and Syria and opportunities for regional development.
The summit, organized by Anadolu and coordinated by the Gaziantep Governor's Office and hosted by the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, is taking place at Gaziantep University with contributions from Kalyon Construction and SANKO Holding.
Karagoz said the world is in a period when historical trade routes are reviving, production and logistics networks are being reshaped, and cities are competing as strongly as countries.
“Anadolu sees contributing to the strengthening of city brands as an important responsibility,” he said.
“We are working to expand the sphere of influence of cities by conveying their economic potential, production power, cultural richness, and investment opportunities to the domestic and international public,” he added.
Karagoz said strong communication strategies make the economic, cultural, and social values of cities more visible, adding that city branding has become a major factor in attracting investment, expanding trade, boosting tourism, and increasing international cooperation.
He said both Gaziantep and Aleppo, Syria, are experiencing a significant moment, stressing that the strong participation in the summit reflected the importance attached to the two cities.
Karagoz said reviving Syria’s production capacity, strengthening its industrial infrastructure, and restoring the dynamism of commercial life are important for regional stability.
Since the new administration took office in Syria, a more predictable ground has emerged in economic relations, and trade along the border has gained momentum, he said.
“With the start of the reconstruction process, new opportunities are emerging in production, investment, and supply chains,” Karagoz said.
He said special-status production and industrial zones that could be established between Gaziantep and Aleppo have the capacity to transform the border economy into a more integrated structure.
Karagoz added that the region’s proximity to Mediterranean ports and existing railway connections could facilitate its integration into global trade, making the Gaziantep-Aleppo line a strategic point for production and distribution networks.
He said strong cooperation among public institutions, the private sector, investors, and international stakeholders will play a decisive role in economic relations.
Türkiye and Syria have built strong bonds of friendship and brotherhood in recent years, Karagoz said, adding that Gaziantep has hosted people from Syria while also enabling synergy between Turkish and Syrian businesspeople.
“Anadolu is a global media organization broadcasting in 14 languages,” he said.
Karagoz said the agency carries out news and content operations in 137 countries through offices and broadcasting centers in 36 locations around the world.
He added that Anadolu’s broad correspondent network across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa helps present Türkiye’s economic, commercial, and cultural values to the world.
Karagoz said Anadolu also works with nearly 700 major brands and strengthens them through strategic communication activities.
Through its Business News Department, the agency delivers company news, investment moves, sectoral developments, and economic transformation news stories directly to the business world and global audiences, he said.
Karagoz said Anadolu will now also begin communicating the success stories, competitive capacity, and innovations of Syrian companies to the world.
He said the City Economies Summit aims to contribute to the global communication strategies of cities.
Karagoz said Gaziantep and Aleppo should be seen not only as two cities brought together by history, culture, and trade routes, but also as two regional power centers that will shape the future together.
“We should be in both cooperation and competition in technology, production, research and development (R&D), and entrepreneurship,” he said.
Karagoz said Gaziantep and Aleppo will reach a much broader sphere of influence where production power and communication power come together, adding that Anadolu will do its part to tell the story of the two cities.
* Writing by Mucahithan Avcioglu in Istanbul
