The 2nd Global Entrepreneurship Summit took place at Istanbul Harbiye Convention Center during December 3-6 under the theme of "Entrepreneurship, Values and Development: A Global Agenda". The Summit was hosted by H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, and it is the follow-up of the "Entrepreneurship Summit" hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on April 26-27, 2010. The summit brought together more than 1,000 successful entrepreneurs from Turkey and throughout the world. SESRIC was represented thereat by Mr. Nadi Serhan Aydin, researcher at the Centre.

The opening speeches of the Summit were delivered in the plenary session by H.E. Cemil Cicek, President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, H.E. Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States, H.E. Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and H.E. Zafer Caglayan, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Turkey.

In his address to the Summit, H.E. Cemil Cicek said: “The entrepreneurship is a global asset that is crucial for building a more just and prosperous world. He further added that the Turkish government recognized the development of entrepreneurship and its culture not only as an economic or commercial issue, but also as a strategic necessity with broader societal dimensions involved.

The U.S. Vice President praised Turkey’s economic achievements in the last decade, such as tripling the size of the economy, record breaking exports, and increasing per capita income. He said: “Turkey is one of the key economies of the world, and is in the position to realize its potential for anchoring its place among the top 10 economies of the world by 2023, the centennial of the Republic of Turkey”. The Vice President referred to Apple’s founder Steve Jobs, giving a striking example of Turkey’s innovation potential: “I was not surprised to hear our Ambassador to Ankara saying that the next Steve Jobs may be from Turkey. He might even be among us here. Turkey has a serious potential in talent and entrepreneurship”.

The Summit also hosted the OIC Youth Forum which was held under the theme “New Generation Response to Developmental Challenges: ICYEN-NEW”. The Forum was organized by the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC). It introduced the new ICYF-DC initiative ICYEN-NEW (Islamic Countries Youth Entrepreneurs Network). Speaking at the Forum, Mr. Nadi Serhan Aydin, highlighted key economic strengths of the OIC countries that favors the development of entrepreneurial culture in the OIC region and further informed the audience about the recent SESRIC-IDB initiative “Skill Development for Youth Employment”.

In support of the global entrepreneurship movement, the U.S. Department of State is partnering with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) to institutionalize future summits and facilitate host selection and planning starting in November 2012. The next summit will be hosted by UAE during GEW, which will take place between 12th and 18th November, 2012.