Dynamic Gaziantep, gateway to the Mideast
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Radikal
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 08, 2009 00:00
A beacon of light in a region experiencing tough times, Gaziantep is the economic dynamo and the most developed commerce center in Southeast Anatolia, but its Justice and Development Party administration still must take precautions to keep the city, a model for other cities in the area, strong during the global economic crisis
The Metropolitan Municipality of Gaziantep was bustling with urban transformation last year, engaging in projects to preserve its cultural heritage, build museums and sport complexes and organize international fairs to boost tourism and promote the city.
According to municipal mayor Asım Güzelbey, urban habitability is a key issue in the southeastern city known as "the Paris of the East," a moniker explained by Abdülkadir Konukoğlu in a 2006 interview. "One of the reasons the city is compared to Paris is we always had imported goods in our shops; you can find anything imported here," said Konukoğlu, the acting board president of Sanko Holding and an official with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, or GSO, who added that his city is a very modern one with many restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues. "It is a city both modern and friendly," Konukoğlu said, describing Gaziantep’s socio-cultural makeup as a place where people enjoy earning money and spending it on entertainment.
An economic dynamo, Gaziantep is the most developed commerce center in the southeastern Anatolian region and thus a model for other cities in the area, which is underdeveloped from both the business and tourism perspectives. As a result, Gaziantep has attracted high levels of migration over the last four to five years. Between the years 2002 and 2007, Gaziantep received the second highest amount of migration in Turkey, increasing its population by 21 percent. The city is also a link between Turkey and the Middle East, with more than $1 billion in trade conducted in the past year alone. Because of this, Gaziantep can be defined not just as a city but as a key metropolitan basin; since its development reflects its surroundings, it is also a regional and local center for development.
Strategic location
Gaziantep’s strategic geographical location has gained even more importance since Turkey’s negotiations with the European Union began. If Turkey becomes a member of the EU at some future time, Gaziantep will become Europe’s door to the Arab League and the Middle East, which would increase the border trade dramatically. In the political sense, the city would also be a bridge for developing relations between the EU and the Middle East. In light of these expectations, many investors, both foreign and domestic, have shown interest in investing in Gaziantep, with profitable results for the city, which has been a leader in adopting new technological developments for industry and production.
A city of industry, commerce and exportation, Gaziantep is considered an industrial metropolis, a status it gained not only for geographical reasons, but as a result of various other factors, both local and global. The city is home to five percent of Turkey’s industrial production and includes the country’s largest organized industrial areas and other production sites. Globalization and Europeanization have influenced work in Gaziantep on research and development, innovation and branding. GSO President Nejat Koçer says that Gaziantep is a model Anatolian city and the first to crack the influential Ankara-Istanbul-Izmir triangle. The city’s 1,650 patent applications support its claim to be an innovator.
Despite these successes, Gaziantep ranks only 40th on the habitability index and 32nd on the compatibility index. When it comes to the economic activity and vitality index, the situation is brighter Ğ Gaziantep is 17th on that list. But in terms of human capital, Gaziantep drops again, to 67th place.
Though Gaziantep may yet be affected by the economic crisis, the city expects its Justice and Development Party, or AKP, administration to take precautions such as focusing on the crisis and getting an effective incentive system started. Between 3,000 and 4,000 production units produce 150 different goods in Gaziantep; its success in diversifying its production sets the city apart from others and reduces its potential vulnerability to the crisis. However, state support is still needed for it to continue its productive economical development and dynamism.
Local-global interaction
In a July 12, 2008, speech, Koçer pointed out that cities do not act on just a local scale anymore, but on a scale of local-global interaction. "From now on, the cities’ competitive forces in sectors should not be measured by their capacity on the national scale but by their capacity and market share on the global scale," Koçer said, adding that higher productivity and the production of goods with higher added value are needed to make the city more globally competitive. "If a city has developed its power of foreign commerce and reached the quality and norms [necessary] to trade its goods on international markets, that city must be backed up and the values of these cities should be considered for their countries."
Gaziantep’s foundations and institutions agree with Koçer: They are not happy with the present incentive system and they demand change.
According to municipal mayor Asım Güzelbey, urban habitability is a key issue in the southeastern city known as "the Paris of the East," a moniker explained by Abdülkadir Konukoğlu in a 2006 interview. "One of the reasons the city is compared to Paris is we always had imported goods in our shops; you can find anything imported here," said Konukoğlu, the acting board president of Sanko Holding and an official with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, or GSO, who added that his city is a very modern one with many restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues. "It is a city both modern and friendly," Konukoğlu said, describing Gaziantep’s socio-cultural makeup as a place where people enjoy earning money and spending it on entertainment.
An economic dynamo, Gaziantep is the most developed commerce center in the southeastern Anatolian region and thus a model for other cities in the area, which is underdeveloped from both the business and tourism perspectives. As a result, Gaziantep has attracted high levels of migration over the last four to five years. Between the years 2002 and 2007, Gaziantep received the second highest amount of migration in Turkey, increasing its population by 21 percent. The city is also a link between Turkey and the Middle East, with more than $1 billion in trade conducted in the past year alone. Because of this, Gaziantep can be defined not just as a city but as a key metropolitan basin; since its development reflects its surroundings, it is also a regional and local center for development.
Strategic location
Gaziantep’s strategic geographical location has gained even more importance since Turkey’s negotiations with the European Union began. If Turkey becomes a member of the EU at some future time, Gaziantep will become Europe’s door to the Arab League and the Middle East, which would increase the border trade dramatically. In the political sense, the city would also be a bridge for developing relations between the EU and the Middle East. In light of these expectations, many investors, both foreign and domestic, have shown interest in investing in Gaziantep, with profitable results for the city, which has been a leader in adopting new technological developments for industry and production.
A city of industry, commerce and exportation, Gaziantep is considered an industrial metropolis, a status it gained not only for geographical reasons, but as a result of various other factors, both local and global. The city is home to five percent of Turkey’s industrial production and includes the country’s largest organized industrial areas and other production sites. Globalization and Europeanization have influenced work in Gaziantep on research and development, innovation and branding. GSO President Nejat Koçer says that Gaziantep is a model Anatolian city and the first to crack the influential Ankara-Istanbul-Izmir triangle. The city’s 1,650 patent applications support its claim to be an innovator.
Despite these successes, Gaziantep ranks only 40th on the habitability index and 32nd on the compatibility index. When it comes to the economic activity and vitality index, the situation is brighter Ğ Gaziantep is 17th on that list. But in terms of human capital, Gaziantep drops again, to 67th place.
Though Gaziantep may yet be affected by the economic crisis, the city expects its Justice and Development Party, or AKP, administration to take precautions such as focusing on the crisis and getting an effective incentive system started. Between 3,000 and 4,000 production units produce 150 different goods in Gaziantep; its success in diversifying its production sets the city apart from others and reduces its potential vulnerability to the crisis. However, state support is still needed for it to continue its productive economical development and dynamism.
Local-global interaction
In a July 12, 2008, speech, Koçer pointed out that cities do not act on just a local scale anymore, but on a scale of local-global interaction. "From now on, the cities’ competitive forces in sectors should not be measured by their capacity on the national scale but by their capacity and market share on the global scale," Koçer said, adding that higher productivity and the production of goods with higher added value are needed to make the city more globally competitive. "If a city has developed its power of foreign commerce and reached the quality and norms [necessary] to trade its goods on international markets, that city must be backed up and the values of these cities should be considered for their countries."
Gaziantep’s foundations and institutions agree with Koçer: They are not happy with the present incentive system and they demand change.