He never faltered, never got tired. He consistently strived for improvement. He brought value to every realm he entered, from education to trade, and laid sturdy foundations in our business diplomacy. Born in Gaziantep in 1944, Ahmet Şahap Ünlü graduated from Ankara TED College. He pursued his higher education at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Germany and Ankara University before embarking on a career as an Agricultural Engineer.

Commencing his career as the Foreign Countries Representative of the Southeastern Agricultural Sales Cooperatives Union, Ünlü garnered attention for his contributions to transportation and shipping services. These services intensified in the Middle East during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, facilitated through İskenderun and Mersin Ports. He played a pioneering role in the opening of the Sarp Border Gate, a critical juncture facilitating Türkiye’s trade with Russia and the Turkic States.

Mr. Ünlü served as the Founding Chairman of several prominent business councils, including the Türkiye-Kazakhstan Business Council, Türkiye- Georgia Business Council, Türkiye-Latvia Business Council, Türkiye-Belarus Business Council, Türkiye-Tajikistan Business Council, and Türkiye-Norway Business Council. Preparing important reports on logistics and foreign trade issues, and taking part in official delegations conducting economic negotiations of our country abroad, Ünlü established permanent permanent ties from Russia to Iraq, Kazakhstan to Spain.

We express our gratitude to Ahmet Şahap Ünlü for his invaluable contributions to DEİK and our nation, aimed at enhancing foreign economic relations and business diplomacy activities. May he be remembered with mercy and gratitude.