Ladies and Gentleman,
Distinguished Guests,

At the outset, I would like to express my pleasure in being part of tonight’s celebration, the 31st Turkish Bank Night .

I thank the organizers for giving me this opportunity to briefly address such a distinguished audience.

This evening, I am honoured to extend the warm greetings of the Turkish Ambassador to Berlin, His Excellency Hüseyin Avni Karslioglu, both to the organizers and participants of this fine event.

Turkish banks in Germany form a major part of the international network of Turkey’s banking sector abroad.

For more than three decades now, Turkish banks have effectively proved their added value in facilitating and further strengthening the economic and financial ties between the two countries, thus contributing to the bonds of friendship between Turkey and Germany.

It goes without saying, Turkey’s banking industry also demonstrated remarkable resilience to the effects of the global financial crisis and our banks are now highly regarded in Europe. Their achievement are now admitted, even by the European Union officials, who generally hesitate to confirm Turkey’s progress in many fields. Few months ago, the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Mr. Olli Rehn was quoted as saying that the “capital adequacy ratios of the Turkish banks are higher than in many EU member states.”

I am also pleased to express that over the recent years more and more German banks began to show interest in Turkey. Many foreign banks including those of Germany either operate directly in the country or enter the market via mergers and share acquisitions, providing services in all aspects of banking sector.

Turks and their increasing investments in Germany, as well as, Germans and their increasing investments in Turkey make a meaningful picture. As it did in the past, this picture is likely to further enhance the extraordinary ties between the two important countries in the future

As both countries are sought-after as partners across the globe, the Turkish-German financial community will likely be driven towards further collaboration in different regions of the world.

To sum it up, I believe that Turkish-German interaction will receive more importance in the future and there will be many pleasant occasions highlighting the importance of your activities and cooperation, just like tonight.