The future of cotton was the topic of discussion at the National Cotton Summit held in Şanlıurfa, the province which accounts for 40 percent of Turkey's cotton production. Our Association was there as one of the sponsors of the summit, where it was stated that the improvement seen in cotton production in recent years will be even more pronounced when GAP (Southeastern Anatolia Project) fully becomes operative. According to estimates, irrigable land areas will double with the completion of the GAP Action Plan. Consequently, the cotton production in the region will also double. The summit was held on March 19-20 and focused on discussions on the volume of production and quality of cotton and the problems experienced in production.

Speaking at the opening, Şanlıurfa Governor Celalettin Güvenç said, "If you're going to be a governor in Urfa, you have to love cotton. This region will grow much bigger when GAP fully becomes operative and everyone will be coming here to invest." Following the opening remarks, in the first session of the summit, Mehmet Kaya, President of the Şanlıurfa Trade Exchange (ŞTB) made a presentation on "The problems of cotton in the GAP region, specifically in Şanlıurfa." Kaya said he believed that cotton production in Turkey would increase with the realization of the GAP Action Plan. He continued, "The area to be irrigated within the framework of the GAP Action Plan occupies an area of 1,061,571 hectares. The significance of the area of irrigated land will be better understood if it is considered that the total of Turkey's cotton planting area is 480,650 hectares. The best estimates indicate that our cotton production will double. Quality should be the goal in competing in the world market. Quality in production, quality in processing, quality in storage; in other words, quality should always be in the foreground—from the moment the cotton seed finds its way into the soil to the final manufacture of the fabric. In order to reach the level we wish to attain in cotton, a solution has to be found for all of the problems experienced along the journey from the cotton grower to the spinner."