On 13 June 2024, the Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) held an event at the Embassy of Finland in Ankara, as part of its ongoing series, Mapping Dividends of Peace in Turkey. The event, titled Peace Dividends: Role of Business in Conflict Resolution, aimed to explore the intricate connections between conflict, peace, and the economy, and to contribute to the economic argument for peace in Turkey and the broader region. The meeting was opened by Finland’s Ambassador to Turkey, Pirkko Hämäläinen, who highlighted the increasingly recognised role that business can play in peacebuilding. She emphasised how businesses can contribute to peace by fostering stability, creating employment, lifting people out of poverty, and breaking the economic cycles that generate conflict. Later, Ali Bayramoğlu, political commentator and columnist, Gerry Horkan, politician, Fianna Fáil Senator Party and Spokesperson, and Mehmet Kaya, Head of Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry joined us as speakers. While Bayramoğlu analysed the current situation following the recent local elections and emphasised the possibility of a reconstruction of society-politics relations in Turkey, Horkan focused on the Northern Irish peace process and underlined the positive effect of peace on economic development. Lastly, Kaya highlighted the implications of the ongoing conflict on the economy and mentioned the potential dividends of peace in Turkey and the region.
Our warm thank you to Ambassador Hämäläinen and the Finnish Embassy for hosting this event and making this conversation possible. This event is part of a larger series of activities planned in the context of the project Supporting the Pro-Peace Agenda in Türkiye and the Region, supported by the Norwegian, Irish, and Swiss governments.