Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat stated that they are working seriously on the protection of cultural assets and said, "Our customs enforcement teams have carried out 133 seizures in the last 5 years, as of the end of September 2026, and 80 thousand 150 of our cultural and natural assets have been prevented from being smuggled abroad." he said.
"The Story of Growing Commerce with Culture and Art Forum", organized at the Atatürk Cultural Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce and the Presidential Culture and Art Policies Board, started.
Speaking at the opening of the forum, Minister Bolat noted that the event demonstrated that culture and art are a part of human life, and explained that the cultural and artistic richness coming from history should be further developed, and that they are trying to promote the cultural richness of the country by giving away rare works that reflect Turkish culture and art during their contacts abroad and meetings with guests coming to Türkiye.
Stating that, as the Ministry, they implemented the Ahilik Week celebrations between 14-21 September, Bolat continued his words as follows:
"Ahi order is not an organization established just to make money; it is an understanding of civilization that places honesty, reliability, solidarity, quality production, respect for labor and respect for the rights of the consumer at the center of business life. As the Ministry of Commerce, we organize Ahi Order Week every year. We emphasize this at other times, but in our Ahi order and tradesmen activities, we organize many programs to popularize the culture, draw attention to the issues of our tradesmen, and contribute to their professional development. One of the most important features of these programs is culture and art studies. "They have programs."
"It is not easy to raise the national income of 238 billion dollars to 1.7 trillion dollars"
Minister Bolat talked about the difficulties experienced in the global economy and regional wars and explained that Türkiye, despite all the negativities, has made significant progress in economic fields under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Stating that Türkiye has now become one of the respected, respected and listened-to playmaker countries of the region, Europe and the world, Bolat continued his words as follows:
"The biggest share of this is the great work determination, determination, reforms and successful performance that our esteemed President and his colleagues have shown for 23 years. It is not easy to increase the national income of 238 billion dollars to 1.7 trillion dollars as of June, the export of goods of 36 billion dollars to 284 billion dollars as of September, and the export of services of 14 billion dollars to 125.5 billion dollars."
"We make great contributions to the growth and development of our tradesmen's businesses"
Minister of Commerce Bolat stated that they want the products they export to have elements from Turkish culture and art and said, "In this way, we do not only sell products or services. At the same time, we introduce our culture, art, traditions and values. These are very important elements." he said.
Noting that Türkiye has become an important producer of many products in recent years, Bolat explained that they have become brands in many different fields such as automotive, defense, aviation, machinery, building materials, textile, clothing, chemical products, fabric and ceramics.
Reminding that the Ministry of Commerce is also responsible for tradesmen, Bolat said, "We make great contributions to the growth and development of their businesses. We have 2 million 265 thousand tradesmen." he said.
Talking about the projects they implemented for tradesmen and Ahi culture, Bolat stated that they also provide support to cooperatives in the same way.
"This year, we provided 65 million lira grant support to 126 projects of 115 cooperatives."
Referring to the Cooperatives Support Program, Minister Bolat said:
"There are 12 thousand cooperatives affiliated with us and approximately 2 million cooperative partners. Women's cooperatives know the Ministry of Commerce very well. We provide them with grant support for starting a business, staff employment support, and participation in fairs. This year, we decided to provide 65 million lira grant support to 126 projects of 115 cooperatives from 54 provinces. These supports have been continuing since 2021."
Bolat stated that the General Directorate of Customs Enforcement has important work on the protection of cultural assets and made the following statements:
"Our customs enforcement teams have carried out 133 seizures in the last 5 years, as of the end of September 2026, and 80 thousand 150 of our cultural and natural assets have been prevented from being smuggled abroad. Because, in our opinion, a cultural and historical artifact is not only an item of material value, but also the history and memory of our beloved and noble nation. We cannot allow this to be lost. We consider protecting our cultural assets as one of the duties of the Ministry of Commerce and we are working quickly for this."
"Turkish TV series are now watched all over the world"
Minister Bolat stated that Turkish TV series are now watched all over the world and made the following statements:
"There are 1 billion daily viewers, and I learned from the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs that 24 Turkish films are watched a day even in Chile, which is the land closest to the South Pole in the world. We also know that Turkish films are watched every day on many channels in Spain. Similarly, Turkish series, which have a very strong audience in Indonesia, Australia, Asia, all over Africa and the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Europe and the Mediterranean geography, are an important promotional medium for our country. It is of great importance.”
Bolat stated that the series contribute to the promotion of Türkiye's history and culture, and that they will also support the promotion of Turkish products to the world.
