EGİAD's 2021 Review
With only a few hours left before leaving behind 2020, a year that was difficult for the whole world due to the pandemic, and welcoming 2021, Mustafa Aslan, President of EGİAD (Aegean Young Businessmen Association), made important assessments regarding the coming year. Stating that 2020 was a nightmare year due to Covid-19, Aslan said that millions of people contracted the disease, and the world and all of humanity were shaken by millions of deaths. Stating that the pandemic disaster has dealt serious blows not only to human health but also to the world economy, Aslan said, ’2021 will be a year in which vaccination and herd immunity against the Covid-19 pandemic gain importance. Global markets are focused on vaccination, a crucial factor in the fight against Covid-19, in the latter part of the year. At the same time, central banks and fiscal policies continue to support global economies. It is planned that approximately 25% of the US population will be vaccinated in the first quarter of 2021. Developed countries are one step ahead of developing countries. We expect that towards the end of 2021, herd immunity will be a much-discussed topic in the global economy.’.
In his economic assessment, Aslan noted: “Following all the negativity of 2020, the market, which positively perceived the Central Bank's 475 basis point interest rate increase after the change in the Minister of Treasury and Finance in the last quarter, caught a springtime atmosphere. If the improvements are supported by structural reforms, lasting improvements will be achieved. The upward pressure on inflation may continue in 2021. We have started to see this every month in the Central Bank's expectation surveys. High interest rates and efforts to lower the exchange rate, along with the impact of Covid-19, are unfortunately the main actors in this effect. With the measures and policies to be implemented, we will first stop this pressure, and then, with the positive developments that will occur, we will see downward movements in inflation. The global economy, which is expected to close 2020 with a contraction of close to 4 percent, is projected to grow by around 4 percent in 2021. In Türkiye, we also foresee that we will enter a more comfortable economic environment from the second half of 2021 onwards. Despite all the difficulties experienced in 2020, we expect to end this year with a growth rate of close to 1 percent.’ We are completing this. In 2021, assuming that the positive steps taken in the last month will continue, we expect to achieve 4% growth. In this period, which is called a restructuring or reform period, it is necessary not only for our companies to survive the global pandemic, but also to ensure that this survival is accompanied by high competitiveness. Because the global pandemic has given us the chance to surpass the countries we compete with and struggle in the same categories.’
EGİAD President Aslan, also commenting on the healthcare system, stated that the system is stronger than many other countries, saying, "It is a fact that Turkey, with its healthcare infrastructure, did not experience infrastructure problems like many other countries. We express our gratitude to all healthcare workers who performed their duties with great dedication during this process.".
Referring to the new normal, he reminded that many institutions have undergone digital transformation during this period, saying, “We have never experienced a period where the work environment, labor legislation, internal communication, and stakeholder relations have been so affected. In the post-pandemic new normal, we can see that it will not be possible to completely abandon the conveniences and working methods brought by digitalization and fit into old methods and patterns. Innovative working models where people can contribute their brainpower without physical boundaries will be an area where we need to transform our work culture. The need for creative, original, complex new jobs and highly qualified employees, and the tendency for low-skilled and monotonous jobs to become robotic, is increasing every day. However, we are also faced with the opportunity for the transformation that the digitalization process will create to generate new investments and new business areas. To seize this opportunity, the needs are clear: we need to accelerate our steps in analytical thinking, interdisciplinary approaches, agile organizational structures, the training of new generations, and the transformation of existing employees.”.
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