The article written by our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mehmet Altay YEGİN, titled "Towards the Elected General Assembly," was published in "Nasıl Bir Ekonomi" newspaper.

The Authorized Economic Operator Association was established on 31.05.2019. In its self-sacrificing journey that started with five founding members, it has nearly 60 legal entity members today. According to Law No. 5253 on Associations and the association statute approved by the Ministry of Interior and the governorship, an Ordinary General Assembly meeting with elections must be held every two years in February.

The Third Ordinary General Assembly to be held in February 2024 will be convened upon the call of the Board of Directors. As it is included in the statutes of each association, the ordinary elective general assembly process starts with the call. The General Assembly comprises members registered to the association, and each full member has one vote in the election. The member must cast their vote in person.

The Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Association, as clearly stated in its purpose of establishment, was established to bring together the organizations holding "Authorized Economic Operator Certificate" operating in the field of foreign trade in Türkiye to ensure information exchange, solidarity, and coordination among them, to develop suggestions on the development of the rights and practices benefited under the Authorized Economic Operator Certificate and to contribute to the development of foreign trade in this way.

With this vision, the Association aims to continue its activities without seeking profit and gain to improve the rights and practices benefited within the scope of the Authorized Economic Operator system, to prevent cost and time losses arising from foreign trade transactions, to reduce formalities, and to prepare the relevant legislation in an easily understandable and applicable manner.

According to the bylaws of the Association, every legal entity holding an Authorized Economic Operator Certificate in Türkiye has the right to become a member, and at most one person designated by the board of directors of these organizations or by the person or persons authorized to represent and bind the legal entity may apply to the Association and become a member.

To shed light on the new board of directors that will be formed with the Third Ordinary Elected General Assembly, we would like to list the activities of the Association between 2019 and 2023 as follows:

* 18 training sessions were organized on different topics.
* 67 articles were published.
* Participated in 4 television programs.
* ten interviews were given to different media organs.
* We visited the Ministry of Trade 6 times and met with officials.
* 3 visits were made to the Regional Directorate of Customs and Trade.
* Visits were made five times to different non-governmental organizations and one time to the Chamber of Industry.
* 76 times, suggestions were submitted to the ministry on YYS legislation. Twenty-eight of these suggestions were accepted and put into practice.
* 2 reports were submitted to the Ministry of Trade.
* three promotional films were published.
* 4 printed and digital magazines were published.
* 11 seminars were organized.
* Webinars were organized five times.
* Participated four times in workshops organized by other organizations.
* Our association became a Spain-based International Authorized Economic Operator Association member.
* Our Association's own ERP System was established.
* YYS Career Portal was established on behalf of our association.
* Our association was accepted by the Ministry of Trade Trade Facilitation Coordination Committee. Our five suggestions were accepted in the committee's 2024 Action Plan.
* five working commissions were established within our association.
* 1 advisory board was established within our association.

Undoubtedly, the Authorized Economic Operator Association will continue these activities and update its plans for the future. Whatever the outcome of the elective general assembly, it is clear that the winner will be the Authorized Economic Operator Association. The Association will continue to serve the sector in pre-competitive cooperation by performing every task undertaken without seeking profit and gain with dedication.

There is no doubt that synergy will be created by expressing opinions and criticisms in a democratic climate, as in the elective general assemblies of the YYS Association held so far, and that this will affect all YYS owner companies. On that day, I am sure that we will have an "Ordinary Election General Assembly" in a festive atmosphere worthy of our association members' broad participation by encouraging the responsibility of being an active part of the processes.