Business News Magazine reportage / December 2013

BORA CAN YILDIZ, 
THE VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF EID
"OUR MISSION IN IRAQ MUST BE 
PROVIDING SERVICES"

Highlighting that the strong statements addressed both by the Turkish Government and Iraqi Government have an influence on the economic relations as well, Bora Can Yıldız, the Vice Chairman of the Board of EID, emphasizes that Turkey’s mission in Iraq is to provide services, and the discourses to damage such mission must be avoided.

We see that the Turkish companies have successfully run many projects in Northern Iraq recently. However, the Turkish companies operate not only in the northern, but also in the southern part of Iraq. EID Construction is a contracting company that has been engaged in the activities in Basra Region of Iraq for many years. We interviewed with Bora Can Yıldız, the Chairman of EID Construction on the difficulties of conducting business and activities of EID Construction in Iraq.

Could you inform us about the problems you encounter and the scale of the businesses you carry on in Iraq?

Following Germany, Iraq appears to be the second Export market of Turkey. When you visit Iraq and go to a grocery store, you can see a wide range of Turkish products from food to the cleaning materials. It is so nice that the trade volume has improved greatly. There have been some political tensions as well as some problems arising therefrom between two countries in recent years. However, all in all, the people living there and the Turkish people are so similar to each other. We have a lot in common in terms of our history, language, culture, geographical location and historical background. From this aspect, it is way easier for Turkish people than the foreign ones.

What do you think about other positive characteristics of the Turkish businessmen?

The Turks are known for their bravery and entrepreneurialism all around the world. They are the raiders descended from Ottomans; they have the imperial culture such as frontier principalities.

They are not like the Europeans; they do not dream a perfect life. They maintain the logic of a complete expatriate abroad. I know that the Turkish businessmen have run many successful projects in many countries such as Kazakhstan and Iraq with the construction culture they have gained from the British and American construction companies.

What did the other foreign companies do in Iraq?

The Americans arrived at Iraq after the war and conducted business; however, they charged 10, even 15 Lira for the works that worth 1 Lira. Hence, they carried out high-cost works. Although Iraq has the greatest oil reserves, there is not much that changed in the last decade. The Turks have a special place in the heart of Iraqi people thanks to the projects they run despite of all kinds of bureaucracy and security problems.

How did you, as EID, go to Iraq?

We went to Iraq in a period when everyone was terrified. At first, there is quite violence in Basra. It does not seem much now; however, a great number of bombs were exploding then. We contacted local businessmen thanks to our ambassador, and decided to commence with small-scale businesses. Progressing step by step, we gained experiences in the fields of logistics, strategy and security. We built a medium scale eye hospital, dwellings and workplaces there. Thereafter, the United States Air Forces sent us an invitation to tender on the airport construction for the USA Consulate, and we were awarded the contract. We successfully completed this project within a period of 11 months. Thus, it turned into an important international reference for us.

What are you doing in Iraq now?

Due to my international contacts, we started to work with international oil companies, as it has been our primary aim since the beginning. It is not easy to get a job from the oil companies. You have to be on site and close the deals. Many international companies compete with each other to get the job; however, most of them come up empty. We have a wide range of ongoing projects from oil pipelines to water pipelines, and even to industrial facilities right now. For example, we are building a pipeline of 81 km. We are building industrial facilities. Our turn-key hospital, hotel and various superstructure constructions for the private sector and state are in progress. We only operate in the southern part of Iraq.

Do you have any projects in Northern Iraq?

We occasionally place a bid for the projects in the northern side; however, we are not on any project at the moment. That part of the country does not suffer from terrorism much. There is a certain work organization and you have certain contacts. However, it is so different in Baghdad. You can expose to the explosions or traffic stops at any time. Some groups murder people that do not share the same religious sect with them. Even some businessmen were murdered. The southern part is slightly safer than Baghdad. We have overcome the security problem by thinking like a warrior. However, I still take 3-4 armed guards with me wherever I go, just in case.

Did the tension between the Turkish and Iraqi governments affect you in a negative way?
The geographical location of Turkey is very complicated. Hundreds of thousands of people took refuge in Turkey due to the civil war in Syria. I met Besar Resat as well. He seems reasonable; however, the people around him are not. There is the Ba’ath Party. There is the influence of the authoritarian regime. Thus, Esad rushed back to Syria from England, and took the lead upon his father’s death. After all, it could not be expected from him to settle the disputes in such an atmosphere, because it was the Ba’ath Party that put him in charge, and was the real driving force there. Regarding the tension between Turkey and Iraq, both leaders made strong statements. Of course, Iraq also has internal balance. For this reason, the Turkish Government could have expressed softer statements and the problems could have been overcome through reciprocal dialogues. I always side with the tolerance and communication between the countries.

How did the policy of our Minister of Foreign Affairs Davutoğlu that is considered to be ‘Neo-Ottomanism’ affect Iraq?

They used the Ottoman policy discourse along with the political tension, and tried to manipulate the ignorant people in Iraq. However, they cannot answer our questions. The Ottomans reign over Iraq for a period of 300-500 years. It is true; I ask them whether they failed to preserve their language, culture; whether they were oppressed or not. In Iraq, five million people in total died and became permanently disabled during both gulf wars. Today, thousands of people are dying due to the wars of religious sect. An Iraqi minister delivered strong messages to Turkey in his speech at a conference there. When I got the floor, I said the followings. The Turks and Iraqis are brothers; they have a long lasting relation. We have cultural relations, and we are related. When I asked them to separate business from the politics, they acknowledged me to be right. Mr. Davutoğlu is an academician. I admire his political vision. He already avoids discourses that may cause tension. I think the name ‘Ottoman’ or any other names do not matter; what really matter is that we need to make an effort to create a service leadership and Turkish Islamic Union under the guidance of Turkey.

How is the legal structure and financial system there; what changed in the last decade?

We are having major problems with the government tenders. As there is no established system, we have to get approval from three different authorities even for pouring cement. All governmental agencies were repealed after the war; there were neither governorate nor police and military institutions; now they are trying to establish a system from scratch after many years again. For this reason, there is no system that fully operates, particularly in the governorate. You cannot get your progress payments earlier than 5-6 months. The Iraqi Government is a multi-party coalition. There are so many parties constituting the coalitions in the governorates, regional assemblies. Therefore, the greatest hindrance is not the politics but bureaucratic organization. The Turkish Consulate and Embassy make great efforts and have good intentions to solve this problem.

They do the best they could. The Iraqi Government carries out restructuring operations to overcome such problems. They will have a better stand in the next decade.

How do you predict your future in Iraq as EID?
There are companies that can confront difficulties. There will be better terms in the future. We operate there under the name of EID. We want to stay there for many years. We made considerable investments in the equipment pool in this sense. We will be deliberate in the government tenders in the medium term until the bureaucratic procedures are in order. However, we are carrying on business with the oil companies substantially. I can say that the name ‘EID’ has become a brand in the Middle East and region.

Related Turkish Media Link:
http://www.businessnewstr.com/2013/12/15/eid-yonetim-kurulu-baskan-yardimcisi-bora-can-yildiz-iraktaki-misyonumuz-hizmet-uretmek-olmali/