"War is the worst thing, let's de-escalate and expand our business"
Greece
Sun, 19 Jun 2022 5:14 GMT
Columnist Sadi Özdemir wrote the evaluations of DEİK Greece Business Council Chairman Levent Sadık Ahmet regarding the tension between Türkiye and Greece.In Türkiye, columnist Sadi Özdemir took the evaluations of Levent Sadik Ahmet, Chairman of the Greek...
Columnist Sadi Özdemir wrote the evaluations of DEİK Greece Business Council Chairman Levent Sadık Ahmet regarding the tension between Türkiye and Greece.
In Türkiye, columnist Sadi Özdemir took the evaluations of Levent Sadik Ahmet, Chairman of the Greek Business Council of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), regarding the escalating tension between Türkiye and Greece in his corner.
The article of Sadi Özdemir, columnist for Dünya newspaper, is as follows:
War is the worst thing, let's de-escalate and expand our business
Short or long war scenarios have been discussed between Greece and Türkiye, which believes that they can dominate the Aegean, Cyprus, and the Eastern Mediterranean, and therefore the entire Mediterranean, for a while. We see that the opinion leaders filling the news screens of the two countries are predominantly retired soldiers. Türkiye defends the "valid law" established in accordance with bilateral and international agreements at sea, on land and in the air, and the fact that Greece ignores this and takes new steps constantly escalates the tension. There have been moments of high tension in the past as well, but somehow the common sense, believing that "peace is much more valuable" on both sides, was accepted. Let's hope so again. Although the phrase 'Let's de-escalate and expand our business' in the title of the article may sound very pragmatic to some, it also symbolizes the belief that peace is better in the end. Moreover, Levent Sadik Ahmet, who said this word, Chairman of Türkiye-Greece Business Council and also the son of the legendary leader of Western Thrace Turks, Founder of Friendship Equality Party, former Rhodope Independent Member of Parliament, late Dr. Sadik Ahmet.
I ask Levent Sadik Ahmet how much this tension has affected the trade, tourism, and investments between the two countries: “I have a really high income. Even this tension does not affect the trade between the two countries much, but long-term and large investments can, unfortunately, be suspended. Because this time, I see that businessmen in both countries are more worried. The rhetoric is much heavier than the previous ones,” he says. Levent Sadik Ahmet states that the establishment of new bases by the USA in Greece may naturally have given some politicians extra encouragement in Greece and adds: “But the USA had bases in Greece before. I personally do not think that the US has established its previous and new bases against Türkiye, but I do not know whether the Greek administration thinks so. We, as business people on both sides, are trying to develop and expand our business. Unless concrete steps are taken to reduce tension in this environment, what the business world can do will be limited. We had a goal of increasing our foreign trade, which was 5.3 billion dollars last year, to 10 billion dollars, but we cannot reach that target. Fewer tourists go there from Türkiye. If the waters get too warm, Greece's tourism will be negatively affected. Because tourists want security and peace.”
No war between two NATO countries
Levent Sadik Ahmet, Chairman of the Greek Business Council of Türkiye, said, “There will be no war between two NATO countries. Let's de-escalate and expand our business. I say this as a Western Thrace Turk and a Turkish businessman, and I want the tension to end. Our Greek friends think so too. Unfortunately, the Greek media fuels the tension more. But war is the worst thing, and he says 'no to war, yes to peace and trade'. He says that due to the embargo imposed on Russia, many Greek companies have established companies in Türkiye and that there are many Greek companies that want to establish more. Levent Sadik Ahmet underlines that Türkiye is also a very good partner and solution point for Greek business people.
Are foreign powers provoking both sides?
I also called Muhsin Bayrak, Chairman of the Board of AB Group Holding, one of the business people who have signed important projects in Greece. We have employed approximately 1000 Greek, Turkish, Albanian, Romanian, and Macedonian people. In addition, we export construction materials from Turkey to Greece. We have very good friends in Greece. We are witnessing that the friendship between our peoples is very strong.” Muhsin Bayrak, who says that they have difficulty in making sense of the "high tension" between the two countries at the moment, believes that this tension is temporary. Expressing that the two peoples often lived together peacefully for thousands of years, he summarizes his views as follows: “I think 'external forces' are provoking both sides. The politicians of the two countries should not understand this situation and fall into a trap. Everyone knows me. My homeland, Türkiye, and I am a lover of Türkiye, but I say that the tension between the two countries does not benefit Türkiye, Greece, the European Union, or the USA. Our state elders should sit at the table calmly and solve all the problems.”
Has the sale of housing to foreigners increased?
In May, 122 thousand 768 houses were sold. Foreigners bought 5,962 (4,8%) of these residences. Housing sales to foreigners increased by 235 percent compared to May of last year. Looking at these figures, the shortest comment was, “The lower limit for housing for citizenship was increased to 400 thousand dollars, but even this could not stop the foreigner, reverse sales exploded”. This is actually not the case. Because the 400 thousand dollar application will start on 13 June, foreigners who think they will miss 250 thousand dollars bought more housing in May. When the June results are announced, we will see that the rapid increase in sales to foreigners continues for at least 12 more days. Then the 400 thousand dollar application will come into effect. Let's see what will happen to the sale of housing to foreigners in July. Will the 10 billion dollars foreign exchange target be realized in this way?
In Türkiye, columnist Sadi Özdemir took the evaluations of Levent Sadik Ahmet, Chairman of the Greek Business Council of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), regarding the escalating tension between Türkiye and Greece in his corner.
The article of Sadi Özdemir, columnist for Dünya newspaper, is as follows:
War is the worst thing, let's de-escalate and expand our business
Short or long war scenarios have been discussed between Greece and Türkiye, which believes that they can dominate the Aegean, Cyprus, and the Eastern Mediterranean, and therefore the entire Mediterranean, for a while. We see that the opinion leaders filling the news screens of the two countries are predominantly retired soldiers. Türkiye defends the "valid law" established in accordance with bilateral and international agreements at sea, on land and in the air, and the fact that Greece ignores this and takes new steps constantly escalates the tension. There have been moments of high tension in the past as well, but somehow the common sense, believing that "peace is much more valuable" on both sides, was accepted. Let's hope so again. Although the phrase 'Let's de-escalate and expand our business' in the title of the article may sound very pragmatic to some, it also symbolizes the belief that peace is better in the end. Moreover, Levent Sadik Ahmet, who said this word, Chairman of Türkiye-Greece Business Council and also the son of the legendary leader of Western Thrace Turks, Founder of Friendship Equality Party, former Rhodope Independent Member of Parliament, late Dr. Sadik Ahmet.
I ask Levent Sadik Ahmet how much this tension has affected the trade, tourism, and investments between the two countries: “I have a really high income. Even this tension does not affect the trade between the two countries much, but long-term and large investments can, unfortunately, be suspended. Because this time, I see that businessmen in both countries are more worried. The rhetoric is much heavier than the previous ones,” he says. Levent Sadik Ahmet states that the establishment of new bases by the USA in Greece may naturally have given some politicians extra encouragement in Greece and adds: “But the USA had bases in Greece before. I personally do not think that the US has established its previous and new bases against Türkiye, but I do not know whether the Greek administration thinks so. We, as business people on both sides, are trying to develop and expand our business. Unless concrete steps are taken to reduce tension in this environment, what the business world can do will be limited. We had a goal of increasing our foreign trade, which was 5.3 billion dollars last year, to 10 billion dollars, but we cannot reach that target. Fewer tourists go there from Türkiye. If the waters get too warm, Greece's tourism will be negatively affected. Because tourists want security and peace.”
No war between two NATO countries
Levent Sadik Ahmet, Chairman of the Greek Business Council of Türkiye, said, “There will be no war between two NATO countries. Let's de-escalate and expand our business. I say this as a Western Thrace Turk and a Turkish businessman, and I want the tension to end. Our Greek friends think so too. Unfortunately, the Greek media fuels the tension more. But war is the worst thing, and he says 'no to war, yes to peace and trade'. He says that due to the embargo imposed on Russia, many Greek companies have established companies in Türkiye and that there are many Greek companies that want to establish more. Levent Sadik Ahmet underlines that Türkiye is also a very good partner and solution point for Greek business people.
Are foreign powers provoking both sides?
I also called Muhsin Bayrak, Chairman of the Board of AB Group Holding, one of the business people who have signed important projects in Greece. We have employed approximately 1000 Greek, Turkish, Albanian, Romanian, and Macedonian people. In addition, we export construction materials from Turkey to Greece. We have very good friends in Greece. We are witnessing that the friendship between our peoples is very strong.” Muhsin Bayrak, who says that they have difficulty in making sense of the "high tension" between the two countries at the moment, believes that this tension is temporary. Expressing that the two peoples often lived together peacefully for thousands of years, he summarizes his views as follows: “I think 'external forces' are provoking both sides. The politicians of the two countries should not understand this situation and fall into a trap. Everyone knows me. My homeland, Türkiye, and I am a lover of Türkiye, but I say that the tension between the two countries does not benefit Türkiye, Greece, the European Union, or the USA. Our state elders should sit at the table calmly and solve all the problems.”
Has the sale of housing to foreigners increased?
In May, 122 thousand 768 houses were sold. Foreigners bought 5,962 (4,8%) of these residences. Housing sales to foreigners increased by 235 percent compared to May of last year. Looking at these figures, the shortest comment was, “The lower limit for housing for citizenship was increased to 400 thousand dollars, but even this could not stop the foreigner, reverse sales exploded”. This is actually not the case. Because the 400 thousand dollar application will start on 13 June, foreigners who think they will miss 250 thousand dollars bought more housing in May. When the June results are announced, we will see that the rapid increase in sales to foreigners continues for at least 12 more days. Then the 400 thousand dollar application will come into effect. Let's see what will happen to the sale of housing to foreigners in July. Will the 10 billion dollars foreign exchange target be realized in this way?
