9th Bogazici Summit kicks off

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL

An international economic summit meeting in Istanbul launched Monday under the theme of "Sustaining Peace and Development for All".

The 9th Bosphorus Summit is organized by the International Cooperation Platform (ICP) under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Within the scope of the summit, several topics will be discussed, such as trade wars, trade in local currencies, development projects, global peace, and renewable energy, by experts, academics, business-people, and politicians from several countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the summit, Talal Abu Ghazaleh, the honorary chairman of the ICP, said that global peace could only be achieved in a world free of trade wars.

He asserted that in 2020 the world would see a serious economic crisis which he said will spark "a new world war".

Also speaking at the ceremony, the chairman of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly, Ismail Gulle said the summit meeting was an important event that brought together different cultures, opening new opportunities in global business and international trade.

Ali Kopuz, the deputy chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, said global trade was severely affected by trade wars and protectionist measures, threatening global growth, which he said has been revised down to 3.7 percent from 3.9 percent for 2019.

"There are 192 million jobless people in the world and the number is rising. In such a picture, protectionism is an absolute nightmare scenario," Kopuz said.

The three-day summit, where several countries' representatives from Libya to Azerbaijan gave also speeches, is being to hold in Four Seasons Hotel.