Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) held its third meeting titled ‘Dividends of Peace for the Region’ in collaboration with the Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DTSO) and Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Van TSO).
Political Communication Specialist and Former Advisor to the Irish Government Derek Mooney, Van TSO Chairman Necdet Takva and DTSO Chairman Mehmet Kaya attended the meeting as speakers. Many academics, journalists, NGO representatives and business people from Turkey and the region also participated. The potential role of business in conflict resolution, promoting and supporting peace processes was discussed at the meeting.
Making the opening speech at the meeting, Van TSO Chairman Necdet Takva said, ‘It is important and valuable to talk about peace and its contribution to the economy in our city.’ DTSO President Mehmet Kaya thanked Van TSO for hosting it and stated, ‘It is important for NGOs to take a more active part in such processes and to be able to express their opinions freely.’
Derek Mooney listed direct and indirect economic costs of the conflict in Northern Ireland as follows: Damage to economic infrastructure and capital, human capital loss, directing the resources and investments of the state to the field of security and police activities, increased costs of security related services in the business world and conflict zones being avoided by the investors. After the moderation of the second discussion by Vahap Coşkun, the meeting ended with a Q&A session.
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