The Real Race in the SATSO Elections Should Be for Sakarya’s Future

Akgün Altuğ and Talip Kuriş are continuing their intensive election campaigns for the presidency of the Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SATSO). The elections will be held in October. We see that the election campaign, which has been on the agenda of Sakarya’s business community for nearly a year, is being conducted largely with a focus on winning the election. However, the SATSO elections should be a process in which different visions and projects for Sakarya’s future compete and are debated, rather than being centered on personal rivalry.

Karagöl Plateau, Taraklı

In which sectors will Sakarya be one of Türkiye's leading cities?

Automotive is one of the strongest sectors of Sakarya’s economy, but the city also has significant potential in machinery manufacturing, aviation, rail systems and the defense industry. In fact, this picture presents Sakarya with a strategic choice: Will the city remain a center that produces components for major companies, or will it become a manufacturing hub that develops its own technologies, designs products, generates patents and exports high value-added products to the world? The answer to this question lies in Sakarya’s ability to develop its own distinctive development model.

For example: What is Sakarya’s industrial strategy for 2030 or 2040? In 10 years, in which sectors will Sakarya become one of Türkiye’s leading cities? What kind of clustering model will be established in aviation, defense and rail systems? How will the high-tech transformation of agriculture be achieved? What is the path toward becoming an internationally recognized tourism brand? How will university-industry cooperation be strengthened? How will the role of young people and entrepreneurs in the city’s economy be increased? Where will urbanization, transportation and environmental issues stand within economic growth plans? The people of Sakarya want to hear the answers to these questions.

Cities do not develop solely through investments made by municipalities. For Sakarya’s sustainable development, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Commodity Exchange, universities, Organized Industrial Zones, public institutions and civil society organizations must establish a common vision.

Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Service Building

SATSO could be a much greater force for Sakarya

With its more than 100-year history, SATSO is one of Türkiye’s oldest and most established chambers of commerce and industry and can play a much greater role in the city’s economic future. SATSO should not be merely an institution that follows the problems of its members. It should also serve as a center that shapes Sakarya’s economic future, conducts sectoral analyses, identifies new investment areas, follows global developments and develops strategic projects for the city’s future.

A SATSO that discusses which sectors Sakarya should develop, researches which technologies should be invested in, determines which countries should be targeted for stronger trade relations, prepares young entrepreneurs for the industries of the future, develops technology projects together with universities, and sets out a 10-, 20- or 30-year development vision for the city could become a much greater force for Sakarya.

For this reason, the winner of the SATSO elections to be held in October should not be merely one candidate.

The winner should be a Sakarya that plans its future today.

Sakarya 1st Organized Industrial Zone