On the 3rd December, the Turkish Plastic Industry Foundation (PAGEV) hosted the Istanbul Plastics Summit. The aim was to increase cooperation and alignment between PlasticsEurope and PAGEV members for a common approach to current issues faced in the EU and Turkey.
After two weeks of discussions, the Istanbul Plastic Summit Declaration was signed by Yavuz Eroglu, the President of PAGEV, and Karl-H. Foerster, the Executive Director of PlasticsEurope, with the presence of Ibrahim Kilicaslan, General Manager for Turkish Republic Ministry of Science, Industry & Technology. This common declaration addresses the challenges of the European and Turkish plastics industries and sets new strategies to deal with these challenges. Among them, the unemployment, the costs of energy and feedstock, the lack of investments and the need of growth were highlighted. In addition, it was agreed that more weight must be given to incentives on recycling, social awareness campaigns and training efforts, especially in order to engage the young population in the plastic industry. This declaration is expected to steer the plastics industry and make an example for other industries.
The summit was organised within the 25th International Istanbul Plastics Industry Fair, PlastEurasia, the second largest fair organized annually in the world. It hosted 1,143 companies from 55 countries, and welcomed about 50,000 experts, helping industrial companies to access new markets and find opportunities to take the initiative for new business deals. Delegates received information about the Turkish economy and joint investment opportunities from the directors of the Investment Agency.