39 minute read
TURKISH FOCUS Interview with Turkish ambassador Ahmet Akif Oktay; Turkcham; Türk Telekom; Çelebi; Synergy; Matild Palace; Gül Baba Türbe
INTERVIEW WITH THE AMBASSADOR OF TURKEY AHMET AKIF OKTAY
AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES for COOPERATION
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BY SÁNDOR LACZKÓ
Ambassador Oktay began his tenure in Budapest in January 2018. In recalling the development of bilateral relations since then, he refers further back in time, to 2013. “Since that year, we have described our relationship as a strategic partnership. That was when we first established the intergovernmental mechanism attended by not just the leaders of the two countries, but also many government ministers. This way, we are able to take decisions at the highest level and then implement those decisions effectively. During my time in Budapest, we had the fourth round of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting in 2019, with the next one scheduled for November 11 this year. But since 2018, of course, many other good things have also happened like registering good growth in bilateral economic ties. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, our trade volume did not decline, but stayed at the same level,” he tells Diplomacy&Trade. “Our president has paid two visits to Hungary since I took up my duties here. We also had a visit by the then speaker of our parliament who came to Budapest at the end of 2018 to celebrate the 95th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries that began with the friendship agreement signed in 1923, just after the Turkish Republic was established. Hungary was one of the first countries with whom we signed such an agreement. Of course, many ministerial visits also took place in the meantime. So, in my view, we have made good progress. I would have liked to see even faster progress, but unfortunately our tempo was somewhat slowed down last year by the COVID-19 pandemic that all countries suffered from diplomatically,” he adds.
Turkey and the EU
Hungary is a member state of the European Union. As to how important this fact for Turkey is, the Ambassador reminds us that his country is a candidate for membership in the EU. “Unfortunately, now, the European Union has developed a new terminology. They are referring to the Western Balkans as a group of candidates for accession and Turkey is not included in this category. We want to be treated on an equal footing with the other candidate countries. We are, in fact, an accession country that has begun active membership negotiations and therefore, we are in the pipeline to join the Union one day. We supported Hungary after the communist period came to an end and Hungary became a democratic state. We supported Hungary's integration with Western institutions like OECD and NATO, and now Hungary is returning the favor and they are supporting us within the EU.” Referring to the problem of migration from Asia to Europe – with Turkey located in between – Ambassador Oktay says “it is kind of an unresolved issue. In 2016, Turkey made a deal with the European Union, in which the EU said it would open new negotiation chapters with Turkey, they would provide visa free travel to Turkish citizens, and customs union upgrade talks would start, etc. – unfortunately, none of these happened. The EU side promised to send us financial aid to help the refugees in Turkey where we have 4-5 million people, mostly refugees from Syria, but from other countries as well. As a result of this arrangement, the influx to Europe has radically decreased, maybe by 95%. However, from our perspective, this is a half-fulfilled deal. From the EU side, we are still
AREA
country comparison to the world POPULATION country comparison to the world POPULATION GROWTH RATE country comparison to the world BIRTH RATE country comparison to the world LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH country comparison to the world NET MIGRATION RATE country comparison to the world GDP - PER CAPITA (PPP) country comparison to the world UNEMPLOYMENT RATE country comparison to the world TELEPHONES - MOBILE/CELLULAR country comparison to the world AIRPORTS country comparison to the world
HUNGARY TURKEY
93,028 sq km 111 9,919,128 (July 2014 est.) 90 -0.21% (2014 est.) 214 9.26 births/1,000 population 214 75.46 years 93 1.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population 55 $24,300 (2014 est.) 73 7,1% (2014 est.) 77 11,580,000 (2012) 67 41 (2013) 104 783,562 sq.km 83,614,362 (2020) 0.5 % (2020) 13.3/1000 (2020) 78.6 years -1 % (2019-2020 average) USD 28,270 (2019) 12.1% (2021/ August) 84,646,943 (2021) 54 -
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waiting for concrete steps on the aforementioned issues. EU leaders visited Turkey earlier this year, so these issues are being taken up at diplomatic talks.”
Economic relations making progress
Before the pandemic situation arose, the volume of bilateral trade had been on a constant trajectory of growth for 10-15 years. As the Ambassador highlights, “in 2018-19, the leaders of both governments set a new target: to double this growth rate and increase the annual volume to USD six billion. We haven't reached that target yet but we are making progress as we have the potential. This year, there are promising signs that our trade is getting back to its normal pace of growth, slowly but surely. However, when it comes to investments, it's a completely different picture. When you compare the situation between 2018 when I first came here and now – after more than three and a half years –, there is a tremendous growth of Turkish investments in Hungary. According to our calculations, the actual, physically realized investment volume is about USD 700 million and it is growing exponentially every year. We believe that in a few years’ time, it will increase to USD 2-2.5 billion, maybe even more, because there are mega projects in the works, which are either already being implemented or in the planning stage.” The examples mentioned by the Ambassador include a Turkish company, which is establishing a rockwool factory to produce building insulation material in Miskolc. There is another Turkish investor establishing a factory for manufacturing cabins for tractors and similar agricultural machinery in Iváncsa, while the most recent example is the Şişecam glassware factory that establishes its first European glass-packaging facility in Kaposvár with a greenfield investment of EUR 220 million. “In terms of services, Turkish firms are also very active here – especially in the hospitality business. Others are busy building large housing projects and thus, thousands of housing units will be built by Turkish companies. Other companies are working as subcontractors for, for instance, the Hungarian oil company MOL and others. Another example is the factory that BMW wants to establish in Debrecen Although the project is delayed, several Turkish companies are interested in working there as subcontractors. An additional opportunity for Turkish contracting firms is the large scale, but also delayed, expansion project of the Paks nuclear power station,” he adds.
Cooperation in the field of energy
Diversifying the energy supply is an important issue for Hungary. As to how Turkey can contribute to this goal, Ambassador Oktay says “we are already contributing as Turkstream II is about to become operational. Now, the construction of the pipeline, both on the Serbian side and the Hungarian side has been completed, and Hungary is supposed to begin receiving Russian gas through this pipeline very soon. The Turkish Petroleum Company and the Hungarian oil company MOL are also cooperating in different parts of the world on joint exploration projects. A major part of the Turkish companies’ portfolio in Hungary is in the energy sector. There is at least one large scale company, which wants to build an EUR 800 million solar energy farm in Hungary. So, we are not just serving as a transit country for Hungary in importing oil and gas but we are also actively involved in energy projects in Hungary itself. In short, it's a very promising area and we can also work with Hungarian companies in Turkey, in the Middle East, in North Africa. The sky's the limit!”
Military partnership
Turkey and Hungary are both members of NATO and this partnership was also discussed by the visiting Turkish defense minister in February this year. As regards the main aspects of military cooperation between the two countries, the Ambassador explains that “for a long time now, we have been cooperating on the basis of NATO. We take part in joint military exercises, and we consult closely through our delegations in Brussels. We are happy about our alliance not just within NATO but on a bilateral level as well. Defense industry is emerging as a promising sector of cooperation. Last February, ten armored vehicles produced in Turkey were delivered to the Hungarian army, they are known as ‘Gidrán’ here. We have an agreement on the procurement of defense material to Hungary, and the production will shift to Hungary as well.” He also mentions a symbolic development showing bilateral military cooperation by which the ‘Turkish Stars’ aero acrobatic team of six planes flying in formation produced a performance at the Kecskemét military air show in Hungary earlier this year. “As the Hungarian government implements the Zrínyi 2026 Defense and Military Development Program, the Defense Ministry is buying equipment and establishing factories here for joint production as well with a number of countries. We are also ready to cooperate with Hungary in any way we can, including joint production here and the sharing of technology.”
Cultural ties
Ambassador Oktay stresses that good progress in bilateral relations has also been made in the cultural field. “One of the most important developments was the opening in Budapest – during the visit in 2018 of the Turkish President – of the Gül Baba Türbe (tomb). Cultural cooperation is maybe the richest area where we had the most visible progress during the past three and a half years, and this was the most comprehensive restoration of the tomb site with both countries taking part in it. We are very happy about it but there are many other historyrelated projects waiting to be implemented.” He highlights that Hungary and Turkey were allies during the First World War and Turkey sent about 30,000 soldiers altogether to fight alongside Austrian and Hungarian troops but only about 12,000 of them returned to Turkey. “So, many, many soldiers died along the frontline in Galicia and some of them also lost their lives in Hungary, in hospitals and other places. Therefore, we established here a Turkish martyrs cemetery, which, since 1926, has been managed by our embassy. On March 18, every year, we have a special commemoration ceremony for those 480 soldiers. But Hungarian soldiers also died defending Turkish soil, especially during the campaigns in the Gallipoli area where at least several hundred Hungarian soldiers fell fighting. To commemorate them, Hungary will establish a monument in the Gallipoli historical peninsula. The Hungarian minister of defense will be in Turkey hopefully sometime next year to inaugurate this monument.” But there are projects in Hungary too. For instance, in Szigetvár, where Sultan ‘Suleiman the Magnificent’ died on his last campaign in Hungary and his remains were buried near the town center. That location was determined after many years of search and technical studies. Now, the Hungarian government wants to turn this site into a memorial center for visitors, “like maybe Gül Baba Türbe. As soon as the project is prepared and the Hungarian side informs us, we are ready to cooperate on that project as well. We can send material from Turkey to be displayed in the museum to be built for that purpose, and contribute financially to the project. So, it will be the next big step but, unfortunately, I may not see it because my tour of duty in Hungary is slowly coming to an end as our ambassadorial term is normally a four-year period. But the work will go on, I have no doubt about it,” he points out. As for other cultural issues, there are about 830 Turkish students studying in Hungarian universities, and Hungary is providing 150 Hungaricum scholarships. The Ambassador believes this number may increase because there are many more applications to this program than the actual scholarships provided. “Of course, there have also been many, many other steps like the opening of the Turkish Maarif Foundation school in Budapest but one of the most important developments will take place in the year 2024, when we will celebrate the centenary of our diplomatic relations as the 1923 friendship agreement came into effect the following year (and the mutual embassies were also opened in 1924). To that end, we will designate 2024 as the Turkish-Hungarian cultural year, which has never happened before between the two countries. Throughout that year, both countries will promote their culture, history and social ties with more systematic activities in each other’s territory. During the upcoming intergovernmental meeting in November, we will sign a protocol on that, set up a working group and start the preparations. I'm sure it will be a very rich year. I'm also glad that the first step is being taken during my tenure in Hungary. I am sure that my successor will take the further concrete steps,” the Ambassador concludes.
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The Hungarian-Turkish Business Association (Turkcham) was established by the five founding members in 1999, on the initiation of Turkish businessman Suat Karakuş who is now the President of the association. He tells Diplomacy&Trade about how much – and in what fields – the organization has been able to contribute to enhancing relations between Turkey and Hungary.
ENCOURAGING PARTNERSHIP IN ALL FIELDS
“My goal was to create a platform where businessmen from both Hungary and Turkey can come together and help each other to develop their businesses further,” the President recalls. The Association has accepted many other Turkish and Hungarian members over the years, has supported a lot of companies on national and international level. “During this time, we have hosted delegations, NGOs, other chambers and businessmen visiting from Turkey, organized conferences, initiated bilateral meetings, taken delegations from Hungary to Turkey. Turkcham has also pioneered in discussions about trade barriers, investment, economic and cultural relationships in both countries,” he adds.
Noting that the association recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, he highlights that “our role has been changing parallel to the challenges our business environment had faced during these years. We create an annual plan every year, in which we choose our focus areas, and they always evolve around sustainability of business and social responsibility.”
Accelerating investments
In the past few years, there have been several major Turkish investments realized in Hungary, especially on the real estate market in
Budapest. Regarding
Turkcham’s contribution to this development, Suat Karakuş explains that they provide tailormade consultancy for their members investing into any sector, including construction investment. “I believe that this field is one of the most challenging and resource-intensive with the complex regulations, investment promotion options and with a very competitive market in Hungary. We pride ourselves not just in sharing our own experience within our members, but also in finding the required support through our international network, in order to accelerate the incoming and outbound investments further.” He says it is hard to highlight just one of their many projects, but he is most proud of the Memorandum of Understanding between Turkcham, the Custom and Excise Service Providers Association of Hungary, and the Istanbul Customs Brokers Association, which they signed in October this year in Istanbul. “This ground-breaking cooperation agreement will provide the practical help to dismantle all the obstacles against the growth of bilateral trade between the two countries, for which our leaders targeted USD six billion to reach until 2023.” Suat Karakuş, who is also Chairman of the DTİK (World Turkish Business Council) Regional Committee for Europe, stresses that he is generally very pleased that the number of international organizations Turkcham is cooperating with are continuously increasing, and not just in a bilateral context. “As an example, since 2020 we are in close partnership with the World Turkish Business Council, which expanded our network to Turkish businessmen all over the world and created the opportunity to cooperate in a more comprehensive level.”
Sustainable relations
In his presidential address to those interested in the activities of Turkcham, he describes a plan to focus on sustainable development in bilateral relations. “I believe that in order to achieve a long-term growth within the relations of Hungary and Turkey, we need to integrate as many fields as possible, within and outside of the business environment. Our social responsibility agenda is focusing on environment related projects, starting from local community level like tree planting, to more integrated level as making freight forwarding between Turkey and Hungary greener. One of our cultural programs is a poetry competition we will announce for both Hungarian and Turkish children. In education and sports, we plan to find cooperation partners in the future – as one of our new points on the agenda – to support the group of the disadvantaged children from both countries,” he explains. Social responsibility has been a key target of Turkcham during the covid pandemic as well. To Turkcham’s initiation, the TurkishHungarian Business Council of DEIK, the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey sent a sanitary aid convoy to Hungary in spring 2020, as a sign of friendship between the two countries. With the financial contribution of dominant Turkish companies, the threetruck convoy included medical equipment consisting of face shields, medical hand sanitizers and special high-alcohol scented hand sanitizers manufactured in Turkey. The President believes that Turkcham encouraging partnership in all fields, from business to social life, from children to adults while addressing the current issues of the world, is the right way to create sustainability and long-term commitments from both sides.
Important partners
One of Turkcham’s priorities is to communicate and cooperate with local chambers, associations and related institutions. Suat Karakuş points out that Turkcham has a diverse partner network in Hungary, with historical ties dating back many years. “It is mostly because our founding members, including myself, have been doing business in Hungary for more than 20 years.” In the field of export development, the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA) has been a partner organizing conferences and B2B events together. “From customs and trade points of view our strongest ally is the Custom and Excise Service Providers Association of Hungary. Together, we organized the first Turkish-Hungarian Customs Conference in Hungary in 2019, which took place in the Hungarian Tax Authorities’ building. This conference created the groundwork of the memorandum we have just signed last month. Among many others, I would also like to highlight our close relationship with the Turkish Embassy in Budapest, the Hungarian Embassy in Ankara, the Hungarian consulate in Istanbul and its trade attachés – it is also an important forum in reaching the aforementioned USD six billion bilateral trade goal between Hungary and Turkey,” he adds.
A beam of hope
The end of 2021 is drawing near and hopefully, the end of the pandemic too. The Turkcham President is optimistic. “Recently, due to the pandemic, many of our international events have turned to online platforms. We hope that in the next year, we can return to live events, which would allow us to complete our yearly agenda and put our new objectives in practice. We would like to reach and connect with our community more with the tools of the digital era we are living in. For this reason, we redesigned our website, and made our quarterly business magazine available online as well. We are also dedicated to continue creating more platform for our members in order to cooperate at an international level and address their current trade obstacles. I hope we can organize our 20th anniversary celebration dinner, which has been long delayed at the beginning of 2022. This event would bring us back together as a beam of hope after the trying times hopefully behind us.”
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Türk Telekom International (TTI) is a leading telecommunication operator in the CEE region, Turkey, Caucasus, MiddleEast and Asia. It provides a full range of Internet/data services, infrastructure and wholesale voice services to incumbents, alternative carriers, mobile operators, cable TV companies, Internet service providers and corporate customers. Diplomacy&Trade talked to Türk Telekom International Group CEO, Şükrü Kutlu about TTI’s infrastructure and operations in Hungary and elsewhere in East Central Europe.
Türk Telekom International has vast experience in providing a wide variety of telecommunication services. As to what it means for the Group’s Hungarian subsidiary, Türk Telekom International Hu Ltd., and its clients that it belongs to such a wide international network, the CEO pointed out that the company is a leading regional operator in the fields of international data, fiber infrastructure, international wholesale voice communication and mobile roaming through its subsidiaries located in 17 countries and with its headquarters in Budapest. “This unique geographical positioning at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia data traffic is one of TTI’s main advantages in the market. TTI reinforces this critical advantage with its state-of-the-art network,” Şükrü Kutlu said. TTI has a terrestrial fiber optic network of approximately 45,000 kms and more than 100 PoPs across 22 countries. It has access to three submarine cable systems: the SEA-ME-WE-5 submarine fiber optic cable consortium connecting Europe to Asia; MedTurk connecting Turkey, Middle East, and Europe; and KAFOS (Black Sea Fiber Optic System) opening from Black Sea to Europe. The CEO added that TTI is also an important regional player in the field of wholesale voice and SMS transport and international mobile roaming and is constantly increasing its activity in emerging markets such as Africa, the Far East and Latin America. “TTI’s unique geographical positioning, state-of-theart network connecting Europe and Asia, diversified product portfolio, and experienced data and voice teams are our key strengths that make us stay a step ahead of our competitors and are also main values we are offering to our clients,” he explained.
Connecting the region
Türk Telekom International has a major presence on the East Central European market, not just in Hungary. Regarding plans for the upcoming years, CEO Şükrü Kutlu stressed that part of TTI’s vision is to continue expanding its infrastructure and provide alternative, high quality, high capacity and low-cost routes to its customers. “As a result of this vision and despite all the challenges presented by the global pandemic, TTI successfully completed two major investment projects in the last year.” One of these major investment projects is the TTI New Backbone, connecting Sofia, Budapest, and Vienna through two different protected routes in Europe with endpoints in Edirne, Turkey and Frankfurt, Germany – each with a fiber network of over 3,400 kms. “The new backbone provides high speed and quality service to our customers at more affordable prices,” he said. The second project is the integration – to TTI’s network – of KAFOS, which is a subsea telecommunications cable system that spans through the Black Sea connecting Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, and providing seamless connectivity between Turkey and Europe. In addition to these, very recently, TTI, in cooperation with several leading regional operators, initiated the ambitious The Alternative Middle East Europe Route-2 (AMEER2) project, which will be built as a 7,550-km-long high-capacity fiber-optic cable system – with terrestrial and submarine segments – connecting Bahrain, UAE, KSA and Jordan to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey. The state-of-the-art cable will provide the shortest path possible from the Middle East to Europe in a cost-effective manner, he added.
CONNECTING THE REGION
Growth story possible
Over the past few months, Türk Telekom International has often emphasized in its statements that it is happy to be back physically at international events. Talking about the challenges pandemic restrictions have posed in TTI’s business, the CEO highlighted that TTI’s staff is present in different cities from Vienna to Moscow. “Due to the pandemic, physical communication between TTI staff was not possible for a while. However, TTI’s digital infrastructure enabled our operations and communication to continue seamlessly.” On the other side, with the pandemic, the importance of digitalization is even more accentuated. There was a sharp increase in demand and this trend is expected to continue in the future. Changing consumer trends, such as social media usage, online streaming and remote working contributes to the tremendous traffic growth. “Within this context, the quality, speed, continuity and latency of the internet connection has become more significant than before. As a result, competition is tougher. In this competitive environment, it is apparent that supplying core data and voice services alone is not enough to grow your business. Having a growth story is possible through exploring services beyond core areas. Value added enterprise services become indispensable to meet both customer expectations and company growth,” he stated. This new challenge also forces TTI to go beyond the core business of international capacity transport and add value to its infrastructure with new services that can meet the needs of the current telecom landscape. “TTI’s versatile IP product portfolio is designed to this end. Major global cloud and content providers have already commenced operations in Istanbul via TTI’s IP products and robust network capabilities such as four diverse fiber routes from Western Europe into the main datacenters in Istanbul. In addition to that, TTI is always looking to expand its partner ecosystem and provide new services that enterprise customers demand. TTI’s managed SD-WAN service, Global MTN and TTI Cloud Connect Service are some examples of TTI’s corporate services,” Türk Telekom International Group CEO, Şükrü Kutlu concluded.
It is 15 years this month (on October 26, 2006) that Çelebi Ground Handling Hungary Ltd. was founded. Today, Çelebi is the market leader in the ground handling market at Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport. What is the scope of services you offer to airlines, passengers and others?
Çelebi took an important step within the framework of its strategy of pursuing international growth by taking over the ground handling services contract for Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport in 2006, thereby forming “Çelebi Ground Handling Hungary Ltd.” Çelebi Hungary has achieved a market leader position in both ground handling and cargo services, ensuring a diversified portfolio of more than 35 customers from various industrial segments such as scheduled, low cost, cargo driven and charter carriers.
In addition to providing full handling services, it has expanded its range of services to provide Ticketing, Lounge and Meet & Assist Service, branded as Çelebi Platinum Services. Furthermore, Çelebi is at the market leader position for General Aviation. The Terminal itself is operated by Çelebi and over 95% of the flights are handled by the Turkish company. With a capacity of 140,000 tons, Çelebi Ground Handling Hungary Ltd. ensures further synergies to its global customer base, with 13,000 m² of the warehouse space in BUD Cargo City.
The past 18 months have been a disaster for the airline industry. How much and in what way has your company been affected by the pandemic situation/restrictions?
As all other aviation players, we have also strongly been impacted by the COVID pandemic. By taking necessary actions and implementing them into our operations, we could slightly decrease its negative effects. We have directly prepared and implement our COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in all our subsidiaries. All operational and managerial processes are reviewed and updated. New operational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)/metrics are deployed with direct management involvement. As a result of the COVID pandemic, some operational services are also included in our service portfolio such as COVID cleaning in aircrafts, COVID testing before flights, etc…
At the beginning of the pandemic, we introduced short working hours on each level starting from top management. Hybrid working model has been initiated in headquarters located in Turkey and also in Hungary. Also, some of our staff have been reallocated from passenger side to cargo.
From the beginning of this period, we have been transparent to both our external and internal customers. We have offered operational flexibility to our customers with their instantly updated plans. The continuation of operations, especially cargo and warehouse handling, is critical and by taking all necessary actions, we have continued to provide our services 7/24.
Taner Sarı
Celebi Ground Handling - Hungary
Managing Director
At the same time, the cargo arm of your business has been thriving. You have your own cargo facility in Vecsés. Please, tell us about that and also, how much it could make up for the losses in the ground handling services?
It is a fact that Cargo & Warehouse business has not been affected much as ground handling from the pandemic. We could have been affected much worse if we had not invested in cargo.
We managed to maintain our operations and our business has stayed stable during this period. Hopefully, with the developments in the industry and by taking related precautions, volumes would increase in 2022.
According to our cargo business developments in Budapest, we are proud to be part of a great project; Alibaba designated Budapest Airport its East-Central European hub in response to growing e-commerce demand in eastern Europe. We are in close cooperation with the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, called Cainiao, and working closely to make this hub thriving.
Çelebi has been very active in the Bud2020 developments. What has been your share?
At the beginning of last year, we have transferred our operations to BUD Cargo City the construction of which was undertaken by Budapest Airport. Moving to our new base led Çelebi Ground Handling to operate all cargo handling and warehouse services under the same roof. This integrated structure brings the convenience of Çelebi’s services to its customers from a single source and gives many advantages in terms of time, reporting, communication and cost.
We are pleased to offer the best quality services to our valuable partners in our new state-of-the-art warehouse.
Çelebi Ground Handling Hungary Ltd. ensures further synergies to its global customers, with – as I mentioned – 13,000 m² of warehouse space and 140,000 tons of cargo capacity in BUD Cargo City. The total amount of the investment is planned to be reach EUR 5 million until all implementations will be finalized.
Early this year, Budapest Airport joined a quality assurance system encompassing all phases of pharmaceutical transportation in Hungary and Çelebi is one of the main partners in this. How do you contribute to the success of this initiative?
Budapest was the first station where Çelebi received IATA CEIV Pharma Certificate globally. It was really a tough period, we have successfully completed all the evaluations/audits and awarded with this certificate in March 2021.
Çelebi BUD was also the pioneer in this project, and obtained the certificate separately, before the other members of the community.
Çelebi also serves one of the major carriers of the world, Turkish Airlines. What business opportunities do you see internationally in the coming years?
It is our pleasure to work with a major carrier as Turkish Airlines globally and supporting each other for our international operations/expansion actions.
With over 10,000 dedicated employees, Çelebi continues to operate on 3 continents, in 5 countries and at 40 stations. Our ambition is to expand our geographic coverage into more developing markets, while providing rewarding employment opportunities to a growing family of colleagues around the world and meeting the service needs of our partners.
turkish focus
WITH ONE FOOT IN THE FUTURE
SYNERGY REACHES DOWN TO ITS TURKISH ORIGINS TO LEAD THE INDUSTRY TO THE 21ST CENTURY The Synergy Group, a leading general contracting company with a wide geographical presence, providing sustainable design and build services, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The company is constantly profiting from its Anatolian roots, reaching out to Turkey for human resources, materials or culture.
Synergy Construction Hungary Ltd. first made the headlines when it was selected by the Hungarian oil & gas and petrochemical trust MOL and the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions for site preparation and civil works for the new polyol factory in Tiszaújváros, NE Hungary. As for the relevance of that project in Synergy’s life, Deputy General Manager Csaba Szilágyi explains to Diplomacy&Trade that “after many years of established presence in the region, 2018 was our first year of activity in Hungary. The polyol plant is one of the biggest industrial developments under construction right now in Hungary and actually, we were the first contractor on site for that project. This is the biggest contract value in Synergy’s history so far. Our operation method, which we frequently use in other countries, was uncommon on the Hungarian construction scene at that time: we accommodate our foreign bluecollar workers mainly in the on-site camp facility. Although the local community was initially afraid of our presence, time justified this approach: our workforce was available continuously, without any conflict with the local community and without pandemic impact. Other developers, journalists also visited the site camp, and lately, other clients requested to install similar site camp facilities.”
Built for the future
In Hungary, another major project by Synergy as general contractor is the development of the Danubio residential complex in Budapest that has been recognized, among others, by the European Property Awards in the Multi-Residential Real Estate Architecture category. As the Deputy General Manager notes, “Danubio is a unique residence due to its prime location, elegant architecture, materials and construction details – all of these together make it a really state-of-the-art compound. The first phase is just about to be completed, the first tenants will be able to move in soon and we are really proud to have built it.” Since sustainability and environmental design are very important nowadays, referring to these aspects, Csaba Szilágyi says that energy efficiency, the built-in technology and systems are all up to 2022 standards. “Those who move in there will live in the future.”
Returning clients
“Besides Danubio, we are really proud of our other ongoing projects. We are building three major factory projects in Hungary for the largest Swiss food supplier as design & build contractor. We were awarded the first contract in 2020, and since then, two other large-scale contracts. Having this major client as repetitive customer with multiple projects – that is the real award for us as it shows Synergy’s trustworthiness and good cooperation with the clients,” he notes. Currently, Synergy is building the fourth factory for Procter & Gamble in Romania as well as being appointed for the civil works of a block of the first nuclear power plant project of Turkey, which was extended to the next block as well.
Your second home
The latest venture by Synergy is Han Spaces that offers office space with special settings. As to how the idea came to start a business like this in Hungary, the Synergy Deputy General Manager explains that they were looking for an office for themselves because “we grew rapidly and we needed flexible expansion space. And then, we realized that in this COVID-19 situation, people are really looking for serviced offices and co-working areas instead of home office. We decided to make one, which secondarily can also act as a buffer space for ourselves.” He adds that people feel the difference from the usual office setting when they sit down. “It is just as good and comfy as your second home.” The office area in Balance Hall in Budapest became a co-working hub for startup and scaleup companies, who can instantly get in the bloodstream of construction industry players.
Constant Growth
Throughout the years, Synergy grew into a truly international company with large-scale projects in Hungary, Romania, Germany, Poland, Georgia, Ukraine and Turkey for high-profile clients. The driving force and fuel of internationalization is the heated construction market combined with Synergy’s established know-how, own workforce and cross-border access to resources such as manpower and building materials. “We obviously prefer local sourcing. But we must not allow shortages in manpower or building materials to have a negative impact on our performance and clients’ satisfaction. In these cases, we utilize our international sourcing network and reach out to reliable supplies across borders. This way, we can outrun our competitors by two laps.” In conclusion, Csaba Szilágyi highlights that “we wish to maintain the growth rates of the recent years: with human resources, with turnover, with customer satisfaction and all other performance indicators, which prove our professional and financial health.”
turkish focus
HISTORIC EXCELLENCE AND COMFORT
OPENED THIS SUMMER, MATILD PALACE ALREADY RECOGNIZED AS ‘HUNGARY’S LEADING HOTEL’ Originally built 120 years ago as one of the two baroque palaces acting as a gateway towards Elizabeth Bridge, the Matild Palace went through several years of renovation by the Turkish Öyzer Group before it opened this summer as ‘Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest’, part of Marriott International.
EMRE PASLI
As the hotel’s General Manager, Emre Pasli explains to Diplomacy&Trade, the building is owned by Melis Investment Ltd., which is a part of Turkish Özyer Group established in 1948. The founder the Group, Suleyman Özyer started the business in the jewelry sector and extended the investments into different markets, like tourism, real estate or the renewable energy sectors. The company has extensive experience in the tourism sector. Today, the Özyer Group is managing 11 hotels and resorts with different categories, with a total capacity of over 8,000 beds. “So, the company's investment in the hotel industry is not surprising… and we are very pleased to be able to bring the Luxury Collection brand to Budapest under an agreement with Marriott International, Inc.,” he says. The owners were looking for a place, a building that has a special history and represents authentic values in Europe. “We searched for historical buildings in lots of European countries and eventually, chose this iconic building in Budapest because it has a rich cultural heritage and on the other hand, Hungary is very well located in Central Europe. Travelers can reach Budapest easily. Therefore, it was the owners’ decision to invest in this building, and they believed that this is the right time, the right place, and the right country,” he adds. He believes that this investment is extremely important for Budapest and Hungary as an iconic building of the city was renovated and gained its full splendor back. "We have invested a lot so that this historic building is restored to its glory and that jobs are created. These days it is very important for all economies to try to recover as soon as possible after the pandemic times, especially for tourism that has been one of the most severely affected sectors."
A royal palace experience
It is the first Luxury Collection Hotel in Hungary located in a historical building. “Matild Palace is a celebrated debut and an important milestone moment in the growth of The Luxury Collection brand and my personal opinion is that we can offer very different experiences in different forms for the Marriott clientele. Matild Palace allows our guests to realize the fantasy of living within a royal palace that was built in 1902, elevated with modern amenities and impeccable luxury services. I think that's unique experience in Budapest. I believe that The Luxury Collection brand of Marriott was the perfect match for this beautiful historical building, the Matild Palace, as it is the perfectly representation of the local culture, history and architecture, which is the main characteristic of the Luxury Collection brand; offering authentic experiences for today’s global travelers in the world’s most desirable destinations,” Emre Pasli highlights. Marriott – the largest hotel company in the world – had already a strong representation in Budapest in the 4- and 5-star segments, with hotels and long stay apartments but until now the luxury segment was only represented by the Ritz-Carlton. “We felt that it is a good opportunity for us to strengthen the luxury hotels portfolio with the debut of The Luxury Collection in the city,” he points out.
Perfect setting
The Matild Palace provides a perfect setting for international travelers seeking authentic experiences and exceptional service in an intimate setting. The General Manager is of the opinion that the first part of the ‘perfect setting’ is the iconic palace and its remarkable history. Matild Palace was built during the Belle Époque era to serve as the social hub of the city. The historic palace was planned to serve several social functions: it was a gastronomic and social center as well as a workplace and home for many. The basement hosted a café while the first floor provided space for civil unions and clubs. In 1901, the famous Belvárosi Kávéház (‘Downtown Café’) was also opened in the building. So, it was the perfect cultural and entertainment venue of Budapest. The second part of the ‘perfect setting’ are our services. Matild Palace is now featuring brand-new culinary concepts like Spago by Wolfgang Puck, The Duchess, a secret rooftop bar, and the soon-to-open Matild Café & Cabaret. Our gastronomic offer is very diverse, and with the opening of the café, we bring even more cultural experiences to the everyday life of the people of Budapest.” Excellent gastronomy
The Spago restaurant presents a new era of dining in the Hungarian capital by worldwide-renowned master chef Wolfgang Puck. The General Manager stresses that “Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant started very strong – we have a lot of returning local guests already and foreigners often travel to Budapest just because of Spago..., which amazes me. I think it happened last month that an Austrian couple visited us just because Wolfgang Puck was in Budapest. So, yes, gastronomy plays a really big role in the experiences offered by Matild Palace. Our rooftop bar, The Duchess is also operating along with the gastronomic concept of Wolfgang Puck... It provides an amazing 360-degree panorama of the city. And there is another really special venue in the building, the historic Matild Café & Cabaret, which is the reimagination of the famous Belvárosi Kávéház. It will open in 2022 and in the daytime, it will be an easy-going café house, while at night it will transform into a different face where Hungarian and international cabaret shows are performed on a hydraulic elevated stage. So, we have a very diverse, rich offer to our guests... I am sure everyone will find something exciting at Matild Palace.”
Hungary's Leading Hotel
The Matild Palace has been announced as ‘Hungary's Leading Hotel 2021’ by World Travel Awards. As Hotel Manager Selim Ölmez notes, “this recognition has been rewarding excellence in the travel industry since 1993, inspiring those working in the sector to continually improve the quality of their services and products. We are also working on this in Budapest, and the award shows that others also recognize our efforts. It is a great honor for us, for our whole team, to have earned this prestigious award and to be ranked among the world’s best hotels by more and more international media. We believe this is just the beginning and we can draw further attention to this fantastic city that deserves recognition very much from the international press.” Apart from this award, Matild Palace receives a lot of recognition from international media. “Great Britain's oldest and most prestigious conservative daily, The Times or The Robb Report (in the U.S.) have written about us in the past. The feedback from our guests is also very positive. There are a lot of returning guests at the Spago and the Duchess. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are fewer international hotel guests at the moment, but we were prepared for that. We believe Hungary and Budapest are upcoming and truly desirable destinations attracting more and more travelers in the long run,” the Hotel Manager concludes.
turkish focus
GÜL BABA TÜRBE: A HISTORIC BUILDING COMPLEX
THE TURKISH SHRINE IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS IN BUDAPEST Gül Baba Türbe, the tomb of an Ottoman-Turkish soldier-monk that now also serves as a Turkish shrine providing a magnificent view of the River Danube and Margaret Island, can again be visited in the Buda Hills for over two years now.
Gül Baba (‘Father of Roses’) was a dervish from Bektas who escorted the Ottoman army during the reign of Sultan Mohamed II when raiding Europe in the first half of the 16th century. The ‘Rose’ in his name is a sort of spiritual rank indicating that he was considered to know God deeply, in a transcendent way. Gül Baba arrived to Buda in 1541 accompanying Suleiman the Great I and the Turkish army. According to legend, he died on September 2, 1541, on the day when commemorating the occupation of the town. Gül Baba, the dervish respected much among the ottomans, was buried on the hill outside the city limits of that time where his honorary monument is also situated. Between 1543-1548 a closed tomb (mausoleum) was erected above his grave. During the Ottoman occupation it became customary for the Ottomans to use the area around the tomb as burial ground. In 1686, during the second siege of Buda, the Habsburg army did not disturb the tomb and later the Jesuit priests transformed it into a Catholic chapel, and throughout two centuries the tomb existed in this form. In 1885, the Ottoman government assigned János Wágner Hungarian architect to restore the tomb and the surrounding monument. He built a supporting wall around the buildings. After a restoration in 1914, the monument was declared Hungarian national monument. In the 20th century, the tomb and the surrounding building complex were renovated and reconstructed several times, but the significant renovation of its condition could not be achieved. By the beginning of the 21st century the building complex needed thorough restoration, thus the venue was closed for several years, no visit was permitted. In 2015, a Hungarian-Turkish agreement was signed on carrying out the heritage tasks of the tomb and its surroundings as well as on the complex landscaping, and the works finished in 2018. The tomb was studied professionally, there were heritage works, and the direct and wider surroundings were organized from architectural and landscaping perspective at a higher level. As a result, not only the Ottoman historical building can be visited in the building complex, but there is a cultural center whose main important elements consists of the permanent exposition established in the basement of the former Wagner villa, the tea-house and café connected to that basement, there are premises to hold various performances and workshops. All this with the surrounding garden forms a historical building complex with sensitive landscaping solutions: a living cultural center.
