Special-Stamped Passport Eligibility Period for Exporters Extended from 2 to 4 Years

Adil Pelister, Chairman of the Board of the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), issued a written statement today regarding the decision to extend the validity period of the special diplomatic passport granted to exporters from 2 years to 4 years, which was published in the Official Gazette and came into effect. In his statement, Pelister said: "The reduction of green passport acquisition limits and the implementation of the long-awaited decisions on usage duration, which have resolved one of the problems our exporters faced when traveling abroad, came as a New Year's gift for our exporters. Since taking office as İKMİB Board of Directors, we have made special efforts to reduce green passport acquisition limits and extend the usage period from 2 years to 4 years, which was one of our election promises. We made initiatives with our government, worked together with our administration and followed up on the commitments we made to our exporters. With the decision published in the Official Gazette on 11 November, the limit required for our exporters to obtain a green passport was reduced to USD 500,000. Today, 4 laws approved by the TBMM were published in the Official Gazette and came into effect. Among these laws was the decision to extend the validity period of the special diplomatic passport granted to our exporters from 2 years to 4 years. With this, one more barrier in front of our exporters has been removed. As İKMİB, we are extremely pleased about this important change on behalf of our exporters. We extend our thanks to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Commerce Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle and all officials for their valuable support in bringing this decision into effect before year's end and for the New Year's gift they have given to our exporters. As İKMİB, we will continue to work for the development of our sector and provide support to our companies."