The 96th ILO Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland between the dates 30 May-15 June. A large delegation headed by our Association's Chairman Halit Narin participated in the closing session of the conference where worker, employer and government representatives from 180 ILO member countries came together. Our Association also drew attention by holding a dinner reception on 13 June in honor of the Turkish delegation in Geneva with a wide range of participants. Participants at the dinner reception hosted by Narin at the Four Seasons Hotel included the Minister of Labor and Social Security Mr. Murat Basesgioglu, Turkey's Permanent Representative to the UN Geneva Office Mr. Ahmet Uzumcu, Turkey's Consul General to Geneva Mr. Cemil Karaman, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security Mr. Enis Yeter, Hak-Is Union Chairman Mr. Salim Uslu, Public Sector Employees Union of Turkey Kamu-Sen Chairman Mr. Bircan Akyildiz, Confederation of Employers' Associations of Turkey TISK Secretary General Mr. Bulent Pirler, bureaucrats of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security as well as other union representatives and guests. In the speech he made during the dinner, Minister Basesgioglu said that the event organized by the Turkish Textile Employers' Association was an "extension of social dialogue in Turkey to Geneva". He remindedthe guests that the Turkish Textile Employers' Association donated thousands of computers to schools and thanked Mr. Halit Narin for these donations. In his remarks during the dinner, the Turkish Textile Employers' Association Chairman Mr. Narin said they held a dinner reception every year in honor of the Turkish delegation attending the ILO Conference in Geneva and that this provided an atmosphere of warm camaraderie between therepresentatives of labor, public sector employees, employers and government agencies. Meanwhile, representing the Turkish Textile Employers' Association this year in addition to Mr. Narin were Deputy Chairman Mr. Sadik Oguz, board members Necmettin Oztemir, Ozcan Ozenbay, Erhan Ozkan, Secretary General Mr. Basar Ay, Assistant Secretaries General Ms Fugen Camlidere, Mr. Samim Ergeneli and Mr. Rafet Ibrahimoglu.

Information seminar on the textile industry, which is the fifth of a series within the project entitled "The Horizontal Effects on Leading Turkish Business Sectors of the Implementation of the EU Acquis" undertaken within the framework of the Economic Development Foundation (iKV) Europe Information Bridges programme was held in Istanbul on 14 June. Turkish Textile Employers' Association board member and Euratex Deputy Chairman Bulent Baser and the Association's Economic Adviser Dr. Binhan Oguz were keynote speakers at the seminar.
In her remarks, Dr. Binhan Oguz stated that unilateral trade agreements the EU concluded with third countries had an adverse impact on Turkey within the framework of Customs Union. Substantiating the same unfavourable picture with figures, Mr. Bulent Baser undersco-red in his speech that the EU-Turkey foreign trade balance was constantly tilting in the EU's favour, adding that "EU's unilateral implementations, unfortunately, subject Turkish producers and exporters to unfair competition vis-a-vis third countries". He went on to say that issues arising from the Customs Union ought to be negotiated at the EU level. Baser listed in the beginning of his remarks the benefits brought about by the Customs Union that is in force since 1996. He then said, "The necessity of holding urgent discussions at the European Commission by the highest level Turkish authorities with respect to the articles of the Association Council Decision No. 1/95 in the light of the present circumstances and in a manner that will fairly and equitably protect Turkey's trade and social rights has gained precedence."

The textile industry, which has suffered great losses due to imports at customs gates, has given carte blanche to the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) for the upgrade of these gates. Turkish Textile Employer's Association Chairman Mr. Halit Narin announced the Association's readiness to jointly operate and control the customs gates with TOBB which has undertaken to build and modernize these gates through a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) project. Narin emphasized that a control mechanism at fully modernised customs gates equipped with advanced technologies was of utmost importance for an industry expected to get a 10 per cent share of the world market with a USD 50 billion export volume in 2010. Narin said, "The textile industry is Turkey's indispensable flagship industry. As such, we want to be involved in this project as an association. Therefore, we are ready to provide full support for the joint operation and control of the Nusaybin, Habur, Cilvegozu, Kapikule, Hamzabey, Sarp and Derekoy Customs Gates for which modernization is undertaken by TOBB. As the textile industry, we believe our contribution to TOBB's investment is indispensable. As the producers in the textile industry, we are ready for cooperation in the operation of the customs gates with TOBB on a 50-50 partnership."

Hardly a day passes without a new function of textiles, used throughout the life of human beings from birth till death, is introduced to our lives... "Smart Textiles" ranging from functional products to techno-textiles, from ecological items to nano-technological garments are becoming widespread in every sphere of our lives. In the not too distant future, probably a few years from now, our garments will be much smarter than we are. The answer to the question "How" that is going to happen is given very clearly by the R&D divisions of world textile companies. They tell us it is going to happen through "smart" textiles. In other words, garments based on nano-technology... "Smart" clothes will take children's temperature, the T-shirt we wear will determine our insulin level and the vest we put on will protect us against many dangers: it will apply cardiac massage to those whose heart stops, will recharge your mobile's batteries or stop the bleeding of a wounded soldier...

When the government took a decision for early elections after the cancellation by the Constitutional Court of the Presidential election, all of a sudden, the agenda locked itself onto the date of July 22. The elections of July 22 will undoubtedly be the beginning of a new period for Turkey. This is why the parties have started the race to deal out promises. How will these new promises affect voters? How many of those promises will become reality? All of this will be revealed after the elections of July 22. According to the business community, however, whoever comes to power after the elections should focus on "getting by" rather than on "getting elected." In other words, it is not politics but the economy that should be emphasized. The business world does not want to pay the big price it paid in the previous periods.

The second largest fair in the industry, the EVTEKS 2007 Fair is rapidly on the way to becoming the world's biggest. Organized by ITF-istanbul Fuarcilik on May 16-20, 2007 at Istanbul CNR EXPO in 11 separate exhibition halls, the fair enjoyed the participation of 1340 brands and 745 companies, with foreign companies comprising 23 percent of its participants.

Sponsored by the Home Textiles Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (EVSiAD) and the Turkish Home Textiles Industrialists' Association (TETSD), the fair stood on an area of 150,000 square meters. The 13th annual fair attracted great interest from foreign buyers. Achieving an important place for itself in world trade with the initiatives it has taken in the last 10 years, the Turkish home textiles industry met with foreign professionals at the fair, which is expected to make a significant contribution to the increase of export figures.Birlik Mensucat Tic. ve San. A.S., Broderi Narin Isle-meli Kumas. San. A.S., Epengle Tekstil End. ve Tic. A.S., Er-Fun Tekstil Sanayi ve Tic. Ltd. Sti, Genel Tekstil San.Tic.A.S., Kucukcahk Tekstil San. ve Tic. A.S. and Saray Hah A.S., the members of our Association, took their place at the event where companies that include famous brands such as US Polo, Benetton, Pierre Cardin and Daniel Hechter also had the opportunity to presentthemselves. Built on a ground of 150,000 square meters, the fair hosted 80,000 visitors, both local and foreign. A total of 626 local and 74 foreign companies and more than 70,000 visitors had participated in the fair the previous year. The EVTEKS Fair also brought up the subject of the merger of the two associations in the industry. Steps are expected to be taken soon towards the merger of EVSiAD and TETSD.