The American-Turkish Council hosted a luncheon January 9 in honor of Turkey’s President, H.E. Abdullah Gül. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and State Minister for the Economy Mehmet Şimşek accompanied President Gül.
In his luncheon speech, President Gül renewed Turkey’s commitment to economic and political reforms and reaffirmed Turkey’s firm intent to gain full membership in the European Union. He thanked the U.S. Administration for its strong support of Turkey for these objectives. Turkey, he continued, has succeeded in achieving economic and financial stability. He appealed to the American business community to increase its investments, trade and business partnerships, noting that Turkey is a “land of opportunities and we are open for business.”
Following the luncheon, the delegation departed for New York.Click here for ATC Chairman Brent Scowcroft's introduction and Click here for President Gül's Speech
President Abdullah Gül's
Speech
January 10, 2008
Willard Intercontinental Hotel, Washington, DC
Transcript
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure for me to address such a distinguished audience.
At the outset, I would like to thank American-Turkish Council for providing me with such an opportunity.
I would also like to thank the Council and its members for their invaluable contributions for advancing the economic and commercial ties between Turkey and the United States.
I expect ATC to continue its efforts in this regard.
Turkey and the United States have been enjoying a robust partnership of a strategic nature.
This solidarity is important not only for our two nations. It is also important for preserving peace, security and stability in a wide geography.
Yesterday, in the White House, President Bush and I have confirmed our commitment to consolidate this valuable relationship.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since the end of the Cold War, Turkish-American relations have been undergoing a transformation in line with changing global dynamics. Within this context, it is crucial that our trade and economic relations should be elevated to the level of our political and military ties.
Although our trade volume increased from 6.3 billion Dollars to 11 billion Dollars in 2006, these figures are still far from reflecting the potential of our two countries.
Already numerous business relations exit between our two nations.
But there is a vast and still growing opportunity for so many more.
As members of the business and investment community, your contributions to this goal will be invaluable.
Today, I will briefly dwell on Turkey's European Union bid, recent economic transformation, the near-term outlook for the Turkish economy and Turkey's main focus areas for the coming years.
I would like to start with Turkey's relations with the European Union.
Turkey's accession process is critically important for us.
We are fully committed to doing all that takes to become an EU member because we believe the steps required are in themselves beneficial to Turkey.
Turkey's reform efforts are poised to regain momentum. ?The Program for Alignment with the European Acquis" envisages the completion of our harmonization process by 2013.
We appreciate the continued strong support of the U.S. Administrations for our E.U. bid.
Thanks to economic and political reforms of the past few years, the Turkish economy has experienced its fastest sustained growth in more than 80 years.
Despite the recent slowdown, the medium outlook for growth remains strong.
Turkey is already the 6th largest economy in Europe and 17th in the world.
Our GDP was about half a trillion US Dollars in 2007.
The target is to make Turkey the world 11th largest economy by the year 2023.
Foreign direct investments have averaged to a mere one billion US dollars per year during the 1980-2002 period.
This figure has jumped to 10 billion in 2005, 20 billion in 2006, and around 20 billion US dollars last year.
The United States ranks fourth among the countries that invest in Turkey. In 2006, American companies invested approximately five billion Dollars in Turkey. An increase in this figure in the coming years will allow American companies to make use of Turkey's potential.
The boom in FDI inflows is no accident.
It reflects the improvement in Turkey's business climate and its growth potential. In World Bank's "Doing Business Survey", Turkey has jumped from 91st to 57th place.
Turkey's main focus areas over the coming years will be;
(1) implementing the social security reform and introducing a universal health insurance scheme,
(2) streamlining and liberalizing the energy sector, while ensuring supply security,
(3) accelerating privatization with key companies on the agenda,
(4) enhancing the labor market and mitigating the financial and non-financial costs on registered employment,
(5) fighting effectively against the informality,
(6) improving the intermediation role of the financial sector.
I believe, undertaking these reforms will pave the way for a more competitive and more efficient business environment in Turkey.
I would also like to remind you that the economic and political reform process in Turkey have gone hand in hand. I am confident that they will proceed hand in hand.
Ladies and gentlemen,
A few years ago, we only had a road map. Today, we have results.
Turkey has made significant progress in achieving economic and financial stability over the past few years. We are committed to preserving the gains and building on the success. Turkey is a land of opportunities and we are open for business.
I firmly believe that Turkey provides ample opportunities to reach out to Eurasia and the Middle East.
Both Turkish and American private sector entities should consider joint investment and business opportunities that they can successfully embark upon in different regions.
Turkey's close historic, cultural and social ties with the Balkans, South Caucasus and the Central Asia could provide comparative advantages to these joint ventures.
Cooperation on energy will bring a new strategic dimension to our bilateral relations.
Such cooperation will also help in further deepening of Turkish ? American relations.
To the extent American companies invest in technology in Turkey, their contributions for peace and stability in the region will grow.
Turkey has a flourishing economy. As Turkish economy grows, the opportunities it presents grow as well. I trust that businessmen such as yourselves will seize these opportunities, thereby enabling our economic and trade relations to develop further and for our bilateral ties to become even closer.
Thank you.
End Transcript